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Unit 1 Australia at war
(1914–1945)
World War II
(1936–1945)
What were the causes of
World War II and what course
did it take?
1 There were both short- and long-term factors and
events that can be seen as causes of World War II.
Make some predictions about what some of these
might have been based on what you already know.
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9B
What were some of the most
significant events of World War II?
1 Historians believe that the Auschwitz Concentration
Camp (see Source 1) was the site of around 1 million
murders during World War II in an event known as
the Holocaust. As a group, discuss what you already
know about the Holocaust. Why do you think it is
regarded as one of the most significant events of
World War II?
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Although World War I had been called ‘the war
to end all wars’, only 20 years after it ended the
world was again plunged into war. World War II was
fought from 1939 to 1945 in almost every part of the
world. Battles were fought in Europe, Russia, the
Middle East, northern Africa, Asia and the Pacific –
even the city of Darwin in Australia was bombed.
Although the official numbers of those killed and
wounded are impossible to confirm, it is clear that
World War II was responsible for a devastating loss
of life. Historians estimate that around 22 million
soldiers died in battle and 38 million civilians were
killed. Among the dead were around 6 million Jews
murdered by Nazi forces under the command
of German dictator Adolf Hitler. This systematic
persecution and murder of Jews became known
as the Holocaust. It remains one of the most
significant events of World War II.
Source 1 The railway tracks leading to the main gates at Auschwitz–Birkenau Concentration Camp in
Poland. During World War II, concentration and extermination camps such as this were built by the Nazis all
over Europe to detain and murder Jews and other minority groups.
9C
How did World War II affect
the lives of Australians and
Australia’s international
relationships?
1 World War II had a significant impact on people at
home in Australia, especially women. How and why
do you think this was the case?
chapter 9 world war II
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9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
9.1 World War II: a timeline
R0903
Adolf Hitler touring
the French capital,
Paris, in June 1940
– one year before
invading the USSR.
9–10 November 1938
A series of attacks take place on
Jewish homes, businesses and
synagogues across Germany
and Austria. The attacks become
known as Kristallnacht (Night of
the Broken Glass).
22 June 1941
Beginning of Operation
Barbarossa (German
invasion of the USSR).
T
30 January 1933
Hitler becomes
Chancellor of
Germany leading the
National Socialist
German Workers
Party (better known
as the Nazi Party).
8 May 1945
VE Day (Victory in Europe
Day) – marks the end of
the war in Europe.
1933
1938
1939
1940
1940
France, Belgium, Norway,
Denmark, the Netherlands
fall to Germany; Dunkirk
evacuation.
1919
The Paris Peace Conference is held and
the Treaty of Versailles is signed, leaving
Germany humiliated.
1 September 1939
Germany attacks Poland
and German troops cross
the border, causing Britain
and France to declare war
on Germany. All countries
in the British Empire,
including Australia, also
declare war on Germany.
Signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919
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1919
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A Jewish-owned shopfront after Kristallnacht
July–November
1942 The Kokoda
campaign fought
between Australia
and Japan
in New Guinea.
1941
1942
Aerial view of Hiroshima,
Japan, after the atomic
bomb was dropped
Kokoda Trail campaign
1944
19 February 1942
Darwin bombed
by the Japanese,
Australia put on
‘total war’ footing.
December 1941
Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor and
Singapore – war in the
Pacific war begins.
USS Arizona sinking in Pearl
Harbor – the USA enters the
war the next day
6–9 August 1945
The USA drops two atomic
bombs on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima (6 August)
and Nagasaki (9 August)
leading to Japan’s surrender.
6 June 1944
D-Day landing of Allied
troops in Europe.
1945
30 April 1945
Hitler commits
suicide in Berlin,
leading to the
surrender of
Germany.
15 August 1945
VP Day (Victory
in the Pacific
Day) officially
marks the end
of war in the
Pacific.
Check your learning 9.1
Remember and understand
Apply and analyse
1 In what year did Hitler become
Chancellor of Germany?
2 When did Britain and France declare
war on Germany?
3 When was Darwin bombed by the
Japanese?
4 How do you think the Paris Peace
Conference may have contributed to
the beginning of World War II?
5 What event initiated the Pacific war?
6 Using the timeline, calculate how
long the Pacific war lasted.
Source 1 A timeline of some key events and developments relating to World War II
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9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
9.2 Causes of World War II
EUROPE: BORDERS AFTER THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
Finland
Norway
Estonia
Sweden
Immediately after World War I ended in 1918, members
of the victorious Allied powers (Britain, France, the USA
and Italy) met at the Palace of Versailles just outside
Paris to negotiate the terms of surrender for the defeated
central powers (Germany, Austria–Hungary, the
Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria) and agreed on a set of
penalties. After months of tense negotiations, the Treaty
of Versailles was signed. It imposed a series of harsh
terms on Germany (see Source 1).
The Paris Peace Conference alienated some of the
Allies. Italy was outraged that it received few benefits for
joining the Allies.
The conference also sowed the seeds for war in
the Pacific. Japan was permitted to keep Chinese
territory it had seized from Germany during the war.
However, Japan unsuccessfully tried to introduce
a ‘racial equality’ clause to the Treaty of Versailles.
The clause was opposed by Britain and Australia in
particular. Japan’s failure to ensure its equality with
the other powers contributed to the breakdown in
Japan’s relations with the West, and the rise of Japanese
nationalism and militarism.
Irish Free State
Netherlands
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Source 1 Key outcomes of the Treaty of Versailles
• Article 231 (known as the ‘War guilt clause’) blamed Germany
and its allies for starting World War I and declared that
Germany was responsible to pay for ‘loss and damages’ – the
payments Germany had to make were called reparations.
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• Germany’s army was limited to 100 000 men; conscription
(compulsory military service) was banned, the German air
force was disbanded, and the production of weapons and
ammunitions in German factories was limited.
• German territory was given to neighbouring nations such
as France, Denmark, Belgium, Poland – other Germancontrolled areas were reclaimed in order to create the
country of Czechoslovakia (see Source 3) and Italy was
also given two small areas.
• German colonies were divided between the Allies – this
included Australia, which claimed German New Guinea
and Nauru.
• The League of Nations was established – an organisation
formed with the aim of preventing another war and
maintaining world peace by settling disputes between nations
through negotiation.
Source 2 British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French
Premier Georges Clemenceau and US President Woodrow
Wilson walk together in Paris during negotiations for the Treaty
of Versailles
Germany
Belgium
600 km
oslov
Switzerland
Austria
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Hungary
Romania
Italy
Portugal
USSR
Poland
Czech
France
Yugoslavia
Spain
Bulgaria
Albania
Greece
LEGEND
Turkey
Disputed areas
Africa
Source
3 0213_SAL_BAH4
22-11-11
Source 4 A German housewife using
millions of Deutschmarks to light her stove.
During the hyperinflation of 1923, bank
notes were worth so little that it was more
useful to burn them than spend them
Source:
Oxford University
Press
Europe
after WW1
The Great Depression and
the rise of dictatorships
keyconcept: significance
At the end of World War I in 1918, Germany
had been defeated and Kaiser Wilhelm II –
the emperor of Germany – stood down. A
new democratic government, known as the
Weimar Republic, took power in the Kaiser’s
place. Even though the new government
had no choice in the matter, many Germans
blamed it for agreeing to the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles. As a result, it was very
unpopular with the people.
The League of Nations was established as part of the Treaty of
Versailles in 1919. The league was the brainchild of US President
Woodrow Wilson. The idea was that the league would settle
disputes between nations through negotiation, with the aim of
preventing another world war. Only as a last resort would troops
be used to settle a dispute.
One of the major weaknesses of the scheme was that the USA
did not join the league. Although a US president had proposed
the idea, the US Congress refused to join. Wilson’s party, the
Democrats, was defeated at the 1920 election. It seemed that a
majority of Americans wanted to maintain a neutral position and
not become caught up in world affairs.
The League of Nations had no armed forces of its own, and
had little power to force members to comply with its decisions. It
had some minor successes in the 1920s, such as resolving some
territorial disputes between countries in Europe, but it failed in
its central aim of preventing another world war. By 1939, Japan,
Germany, Italy and the USSR had all terminated their membership
of the organisation.
Despite the failure of the League of Nations, it is still
considered to be a significant organisation in history because it
laid the foundations for the formation of the United Nations at the
end of World War II.
For more information on the key concept of significance, refer
to page XX in ‘The history toolkit’.
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The new government also had serious
economic problems to deal with. In 1929,
a stock market crash in New York triggered
a period of severe economic hardship that
lasted until the late 1930s. This was known
as the Great Depression. Germany was
one of the worst affected nations during
this time, suffering mass unemployment,
record price rises and a fall in the standard
of living. Workers went on strike, German
currency depreciated in value, and the
economy suffered as foreign investors moved
their money out of Germany.
<< Please trim four lines to fit >
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Latvia
Lithuania
East
Prussia
Denmark
Great
Britain
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The Paris Peace Conference
and the Treaty of Versailles
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were devastating
for Germany, both politically and economically.
The terms created a weak and unstable economy in
Germany with mass unemployment and severe rates of
inflation (price rises). Over time this led to a sense of
resentment and bitterness among the German people.
Many of them felt that they had been unfairly treated.
This resentment was exploited by a number of German
politicians during the 1920s and 1930s.
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Only 20 years after the end of World War I, Europe was
once again at war. At the time, many people blamed the
outbreak of World War II on those who had negotiated the
terms of peace at the end of World War I. In particular,
they blamed the treaty that Germany was forced to sign
– the Treaty of Versailles. The reality was more complex
than that, with many short- and long-term factors
contributing to the outbreak of conflict in 1939.
The League of Nations
9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
• the importance of the state over the individual
• support for a strong central leader
• public displays of power and authority, such as
parades and rallies (see Source 7)
• a reliance on propaganda campaigns to promote the
views of the party and suppress opposition
• a belief in the importance of national pride
• an ambition to increase the size of their territories
One such group that formed in Germany in 1921 was
the National Socialist German Workers’ Party – better
known as the Nazi Party. It’s founder, Adolf Hitler, had
fought with the German army in World War I and,
like most Germans, resented the restrictions placed on
Germany by the Treaty of Versailles.
Nazism was characterised by the strong and
charismatic leadership of Adolf Hitler, supported by a
small, powerful inner circle of people. Its ideology was
built on German nationalism, anti-communism, antiSemitism (hostility towards Jews), and the idea that
ethnic Germans were racially superior to all other races.
Nazis also believed in the ‘stab-in-the-back myth’. This
was the idea that Germany was not defeated in World
War I, but was betrayed by socialists and Jews on the
home front.
The Nazi Party attempted to seize power in 1923 in
Munich in an uprising known as the ‘Beer Hall Putsch’.
This uprising failed, and the ringleaders, including
Hitler, received short prison sentences. After this
incident, Hitler was determined to win power legally
at the ballot box. In November 1932, the Nazi Party
received 37.3 per cent of votes, more than any other
party but not a majority. In 1933 Hitler was appointed
Chancellor of Germany after negotiating a deal with
other leaders.
Ceremonies, uniforms, symbols, marches,
music and rallies were used by the Nazis to create
a sense of belonging and show strength. There was
a particular attempt to gain the support of young
people through organisations such as Hitler Youth.
The huge Nuremberg rallies held in the 1930s played
an important role in gaining popular support for the
Third Reich (see Source 7).
The Third Reich
After coming to power, Hitler began putting his beliefs
into practice. The period of his rule became known
as the Third Reich. During this time there was little
or no personal freedom. People were encouraged to
report on friends, neighbours and even family members
suspected of disloyalty to the regime. Propaganda
and large well-organised rallies were used to convince
citizens of the legitimacy of the regime and to silence
critics. Punishments were severe and often involved
torture and internment in concentration camps. Jews
were the primary targets of Nazi persecution. Writers,
artists, playwrights, university professors and others
traditionally associated with free thinking were also
targets of Nazi persecution.
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• the need for force in the struggle against foreign
enemies.
The Nazi Party
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As a result of these tough economic and political
conditions, a number of political movements and
ideologies became popular in Europe and Asia,
including communism, fascism and militarism. These
movements emphasised strict government control and
military power and were quick to take hold in countries
such as the Soviet Union, Italy, Japan and Germany.
Although these countries were very different, they
shared a few common features:
Source 7 Members of the Nazi Party display their strength
at the Nuremberg Rally, 1933
Check your learning 9.2
D
Remember and understand
1 What were some of the conditions imposed on
Germany by the Treaty of Versailles?
2 Which other countries were dissatisfied with the
terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and why?
3 When and why was the League of Nations formed?
4 Even though the League of Nations ultimately failed,
many historians still consider its formation to be a
significant historical event. Why?
5 In your own words, define the word ‘reparations’.
6 Why was the Weimar Republic unpopular in
Germany in the 1920s?
7 Describe some of the ideological beliefs of the Nazi
Party.
8 How did the Third Reich restrict personal freedom?
9 How did the Nazis create a sense of belonging
among German people?
Apply and analyse
10What were some of the early problems encountered
by the League of Nations?
Sources 5 and 6 Nazi propaganda posters showing the swastika and the eagle (both symbols of the Third Reich)
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11Explain how the outcomes of the Paris Peace
Conference contributed to the outbreak of war in the
Pacific.
12Study the propaganda posters used by the Nazis
at the Nuremberg Rallies (Sources 5 and 6), held
between 1927 and 1938 to celebrate the Third Reich.
a What impression do they create of the Nazi
regime and the Third Reich?
b What aspects of the posters (such as signs,
symbols, colours) help to create this impression?
13Imagine you are US President Woodrow Wilson in
1920. Write a short speech to deliver as part of your
election campaign, in which you try to convince the
American public of the importance of the League
of Nations and why America should join. You will
need to conduct some research to ensure that your
speech accurately reflects Wilson’s views.
14Search the Internet to locate a map of Europe in
1917, just prior to the end of World War I. Compare
your map with Source 3 that shows the borders of
European countries brought about by the Treaty of
Versailles. List the key differences.
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9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
9.3 Significant individual:
Adolf Hitler
For generations, the name Adolf Hitler has been linked
with the idea of ‘evil’. What is often forgotten is that
Hitler exploited democratic processes in Germany to
seize unparalleled power and impose his ideology on
the world.
Rise to power
Key influences and ideas
Hitler was influenced by a number of competing
ideologies, such as German nationalism, ideas of
‘racial purity’, anti-communism and, arguably most
importantly, by anti-Semitism.
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Source 1 Hitler held crowds mesmerised for hours with his
speeches
Anti-Semitism (hostility towards and persecution of
Jews) existed in German society, and in other European
countries, long before the Nazi Party came to power in
1933. In fact, anti-Semitism can be traced back as far as
the ancient world.
Hitler’s political career began in 1919 when he joined
the German Workers’ Party (DAP), a small group of
extreme nationalists and anti-Semites who saw their
role as trying to convince the German people that Jews
were primarily responsible for Germany’s plight.
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Despite his Austrian birth and his father’s position in the
Austrian public service, Hitler became a strong believer
in German nationalism. He evaded conscription into the
Austro–Hungarian army by travelling across the border
to Munich, where he enlisted in the German army in
1914. Hitler served as a message runner on the Western
Front, a job that was considered ‘safe’. Nevertheless, he
was wounded in October 1918, and was in hospital at
the time of the armistice (ceasefire). He passionately
opposed the armistice and believed that Germany
should never have surrendered. This influenced his later
ideology. During the war, Hitler’s superiors thought
he lacked leadership skills, so he was never promoted
beyond the rank of corporal.
Source 2 Hitler is sworn in as the new Chancellor in January
1933, taking over from President Hindenburg (right)
On his release from jail, Hitler decided that the Nazis
should try to gain power by exploiting the political
system rather than attacking it. His party gained a small
number of seats in the Reichstag (the German legislative
assembly) during the 1920s, but it was the Great
Depression that gave the party its real opportunity. By
1932 the Nazi Party was the largest single party in the
Reichstag. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany
in January 1933 by President Hindenburg (see Source 2).
After Hindenburg’s death in 1934, Hitler combined the
For the first three years of the war, Hitler’s popularity
remained strong. However, in 1942 Germany suffered
severe military losses and German cities were regularly
bombed by the Allies. Some Germans began to
turn against Hitler. There were at least 17 recorded
assassination attempts against him and many more
were rumoured to have occurred. Hitler gradually
withdrew from public life and directed operations from
his underground ‘bunker’ in Berlin. Hitler took his own
life as the Soviet Army overran Berlin on 30 April 1945.
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Hitler was born in the Austrian village of Braunau in
1889. He was very close to his mother Klara but is said
to have had a bad relationship with his father, who
died when Hitler was 13. Hitler showed early academic
promise in primary school but dropped out of secondary
school at 16 and went to Vienna to become an artist.
During World War I
The Nazi Party’s first attempt to seize power in 1923 was
a disaster. Hitler was charged with treason (betrayal of
country), but received friendly treatment from the court.
In his defence he claimed honourable and nationalistic
motives. The judge allowed Hitler to discuss his ideas in
court with few restrictions. He eventually served only
eight months in prison enjoying many privileges such
as daily visits from friends and family, and no forced
labour. Hitler used this time to write Mein Kampf, a book
outlining his ideology, experiences and plans for the
Nazi Party.
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Early life
During his time in Vienna, Hitler was a drifter.
He was twice rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts.
Historians debate whether Hitler already held antiSemitic views before he moved to Vienna, or whether
his experiences there caused him to look for others to
blame and inspired his hatred of Jewish people.
The Nazis used anti-Semitic propaganda to influence
the German public. Jews everywhere were portrayed as
acting as a single unit. Anti-Semitism was emphasised as
a ‘racial’ prejudice rather than a religious one. In order to
achieve their ‘Aryan’ society, other races considered by the
Nazis to be ‘weak’ or ‘polluting’ were to be removed from
society. In addition to the Jews, these groups included
Slavs and Sinti/Roma people (Gypsies), as well as nonracial groups such as those with disabilities, Jehovah’s
Witnesses and homosexuals. While Nazi persecution
of these groups was widespread, Jews in particular were
made a scapegoat for many of Germany’s problems.
In July 1921, he took over the leadership of the
party, by then renamed the National Socialist German
Workers’ Party (or Nazi Party).
The Nazis wanted to make Germany great again
after its defeat in World War I. As part of this goal, they
used pseudoscientific theories about race that have since
been discredited. These theories divided the human race
into a hierarchy of distinct racial groups. The nationalist
movement and the pseudoscientific eugenics movement
(see ‘Unit 9.8 The Holocaust’ on page XX) influenced
their thinking. The Nazis believed that ‘Aryan’ Germans
were a ‘master race’ destined to rule the world. Jews
were seen as the single most dangerous threat to this
plan because of their supposed racial differences,
economic power and social values.
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
roles of Chancellor and President, making himself the
Führer (supreme ruler) of Germany. Hitler’s government
then began implementing many of the plans and policies
described in Mein Kampf. These included the expansion
of the military, expansion of Germany’s borders,
systematic persecution of the Jewish community, and
compulsory sterilisation for many Jewish and Sinti/Roma
people, as well as those with disabilities.
Check your learning 9.3
Remember and understand
1 List four facts about Hitler’s childhood and teenage
years.
2 What nationality was Hitler?
3 During World War I:
a What job did Hitler perform in the German army?
b Why was Hitler never promoted beyond the rank
of corporal?
attempt to seize power in 1923? Why do you think
that was?
5 Describe some of the key characteristics of Hitler’s
ideology.
6 How did the Great Depression help Hitler and the
Nazis rise to power?
7 How did Hitler exploit the democratic process to
seize power?
Apply and analyse
Evaluate and create
4 What special treatment did Hitler receive when
he was tried for treason after the Nazi Party’s first
8 Conduct a class debate on the following topic: ‘Hitler
himself was not personally significant. Any dictator
could have seized power in Germany at that time’.
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9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
9.4 The course of the war
in Europe
Initial German success
SWEDEN
DENMARK
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam
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POLAND
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SUDETENLAND
Prague
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Riv
BELGIUM
Warsaw
Berlin
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Brussels
GERMANY
Polish corridor
Rhi
Immediately after coming to power
in 1933, Hitler started to violate the
terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
He began increasing the size of the
military, reintroduced conscription in
Germany, re-established the German
Luftwaffe (air force), and increased
the production of weapons and
ammunition.
Danzig
North
Sea
FRANCE
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Appeasement
Baltic
Sea
LEGEND
Germany 1933
Rhineland
remilitarised 1936
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ub
BOHEMIA
CZ
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Riv
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BAVARIA
Munich
SLO
VAK I A
SLOVAKIA
Bratislava
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Da
CH
O
MORAVIA
Vienna
Budapest
The British and French response to these
events was largely to tolerate them, known
as a policy of appeasement. Britain and
France followed this policy because:
Source 1 British Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain arrives back from his meeting with
Hitler in 1938, holding the agreement which he
said would deliver ‘peace for our time’
290
• many people believed that the Treaty of Versailles was too
harsh on Germany and some believed that Hitler’s actions were
justified.
In 1938, Hitler went a step further by annexing (taking control
over) Austria (see Source 2). Once again, France and Britain did
not react. In the same year, Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland
region (part of the newly formed country of Czechoslovakia) be
returned to Germany. The Sudetenland had a population of around
three million ethnic Germans. Hitler used this fact to justify his
claims to the region. In September 1938, representatives from
Britain, France, Italy and Germany met in Munich (see Source 1).
They agreed to return Sudetenland to Germany (see Source 3). In
return, Hitler agreed not to make any further claims over disputed
territory in Europe. Despite these assurances, Germany invaded the
rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
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In 1936, however, Hitler ordered that
German troops enter the Rhineland.
However, when Hitler began demanding the return of territories
in Poland later that same year, Britain formed an alliance with
Poland to guarantee the latter’s security and independence. On
1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and the policy of
appeasement was abandoned. France and Britain (including
British colonies and dominions such as Australia) declared war on
Germany in September 1939.
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Source 3 Women respond to the arrival of Hitler’s troops in
the Sudetenland in 1938
The ‘Phoney War’
The period after the German invasion of Poland
in September 1939, is known as the ‘Phoney War’.
Although Germany, France and Britain were officially
at war from October 1939 up until April 1940 there
were no major battles. There were some sea battles, but
Britain and France did not attack Germany on land;
instead the British built up their strength and prepared
to defend France against German attack. The Phoney
War ended in April 1940, when Germany attacked and
defeated Denmark and Norway.
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AUSTRIA
Annexed 1938
One of Hitler’s aims in the 1930s
HUNGARY
Bern
was to regain the territories taken
Annexed 1939
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150
300
SWITZERLAND
ITALY
kilometres
YUGOSLAVIA
from Germany under the Treaty of
GermanyPress
1939
Versailles in 1919. Under the terms of Source
2 Ideas
Source: Oxford University
Oxford - Big
- History 6
Fig 0689_CAS_HIS6
the treaty, the Rhineland
3-6-09
• they believed that giving in to Hitler’s demands would avoid
(a region in western Germany)
another war
had been made into a demilitarised zone.
• neither France nor Britain could afford to go to war as the
Although Germany had political control of
economies of both countries were in the grip of the Great
this area,
Depression
it was not allowed to base any troops there.
Despite the British and French commitment to
support Poland, the speed of the German advance made
it virtually impossible for either power to offer practical
military support. By the end of September, Poland was
divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union,
with which Hitler had signed a pact in August.
T
EUROPE: GERMAN TERRITORIAL EXPANSION 1936–39
The invasion of Poland, launched on 1 September
1939, was the first example of what became known
as Blitzkrieg (‘lightning war’) tactics. Blitzkrieg tactics
involved the use of coordinated air and land forces to
quickly overrun the enemy, followed by slower-moving
ground forces, often using horse-drawn transport,
which ‘mopped up’ the shattered defenders and
occupied their territory.
For the first two years of the war, Nazi Germany
and its allies enjoyed considerable military success. In a
series of military campaigns, they used new tactics and
equipment to establish an empire that stretched from
the English Channel to the Soviet Union; from Norway
to the African countries of Algeria and Libya.
Source 4 German troops drive into Poland in September
1939
The Battle of France
In May 1940, Germany invaded the Low Countries
(Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and France
using Blitzkrieg tactics. Despite outnumbering the
Germans, the Allied forces were unable to deal with the
speed of the German attack. The British Government
evacuated 338 000 British and French troops from the
port of Dunkirk, in northern France (see Source 5).
On 22 June 1940, France surrendered (see Source 6),
although some military units outside of France rejected
the surrender and continued fighting Germany as the
Free French Forces.
Source 5 In May–June 1940, more than 300 000 Allied troops
were cut off by the German Army and were evacuated from
the French port of Dunkirk. This event became known as the
Dunkirk evacuation.
chapter 9 world war II
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9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
Operation Barbarossa
Italy entered the war on Germany’s side in June 1940. Its
leader, Benito Mussolini, planned to conquer Egypt from
the Italian territory of Libya. However, Australian troops
led a British counterattack into Libya, capturing Bardia,
Tobruk and Benghazi early in 1941. Hitler sent General
Rommel, one of his most experienced officers, with
German forces to support the Italians in Libya. Rommel
drove the British back into Egypt, although a force of
Australian and British troops held on to Tobruk. German
propaganda described these men as ‘rats’, a name that
was embraced by the Australian troops as a compliment.
The ‘Rats of Tobruk’, as they became known, proved very
aggressive and successful, despite primitive conditions
and a complete lack of air support (see Source 9). Royal
Australian Navy ships braved enemy air attack to bring
in supplies and evacuate the wounded. By September
1941 most of the Australians had been replaced by Polish
troops. Rommel did capture Tobruk in June 1942.
The peak of the campaign by the Axis powers
(Germany, Italy and Japan) in Europe was the Blitzkrieg
invasion of the Soviet Union (USSR), which began in
June 1941. Code-named Operation Barbarossa, it is still
the largest military operation – in terms of manpower,
area covered and casualties – in human history. The Axis
force was made up of more than three million troops,
3600 tanks and 4300 aircraft.
Source 7 A British
[propaganda poster
raising the efforts of the
Royal Air Force during the
Blitz featuring the famous
words of British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill
292
T
Despite the fact that Hitler had outlined a plan to
invade the Soviet Union in his book, Mein Kampf, the
Soviets were still caught unprepared for the invasion.
Germany won several major battles and captured huge
areas of territory, while the Soviet army was forced to
retreat. By November 1941, German forces were within
striking distance of Moscow, the Soviet capital.
The Battle of Britain
However, the German forces were unable to capture
Moscow. They were unprepared for the severity of the
Soviet winter and were met by stubborn resistance
Source 10 German troops were defeated as much by the
weather as by the Russian troops on the Eastern Front in
1941–42.
(see Source 10). When the winter of 1941–42 ended and
the Germans could manoeuvre again, Hitler directed his
forces to southern Russia and its oilfields. Their advance
eventually came to a halt at Stalingrad (now known as
Volgograd) in September 1942, in a battle that would
become one of the bloodiest in history. The German
army eventually surrendered at Stalingrad in February
1943. Nevertheless, the Nazi forces still occupied a great
area of the USSR, and their control extended over most
of continental Europe.
Check your learning 9.4
D
Germany turned its attention to defeating Britain. The
plan for an invasion required the Luftwaffe to destroy
Britain’s air force, before a combined land and sea
assault could be launched. If the Royal Air Force could
be destroyed, the Luftwaffe could prevent the Royal
Navy from interfering with a German invasion fleet.
Facing stiff resistance, Germany eventually changed its
tactics to focus on bombing Britain’s industrial cities,
a period of the war known as the Blitz. The Royal
Air Force, which
included around
100 Australians, was
extremely successful
in resisting the
German attacks
from July 1940 to
May 1941. By then,
Germany was focused
on the invasion of
Russia, and the threat
to Britain had passed.
In 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union had signed
a pact, agreeing not to attack each other. Germany’s
invasion of the USSR in 1941 broke this agreement.
There were several reasons for the invasion. Hitler had
long argued that the large landmass of Eastern Europe
was to provide Lebensraum (‘living space’) for ethnic
Germans, and would provide useful resources for the
war effort. The motivations were also ideological. The
Nazis hated communism and considered Russia’s Slavic
peoples to be racially inferior to Germans.
R
AF
Source 6 Adolf Hitler at the Eiffel Tower following the fall of
France in 1940
The Siege of Tobruk
Source 8 German bombers during the Battle of Britain,
1940
Remember and understand
1 Identify some of the ways in which Germany violated
the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
2 What was the policy of appeasement? In what way
did it fail?
3 Why did Hitler claim that the Sudetenland should be
returned to Germany?
4 What was the ‘Phoney War’? How did it end?
Apply and analyse
5 Who were the ‘Rats of Tobruk’? Why were they called
that?
Evaluate and create
Source 9 Australian troops, nicknamed the ‘Rats of
Tobruk’, occupy a frontline position (AWM 041790)
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
7 During the Battle of Britain, British fighter pilots
were instructed to shoot down German sea rescue
planes if they thought those planes were being used
for surveillance purposes. According to the Geneva
Convention – an agreement signed in 1929, outlining
the basic standards of war – this was a crime.
a In pairs, conduct research on the Internet into the
Geneva Convention and make a list of the rights
protected under it.
b With your partner, discuss whether shooting
down rescue planes is acceptable conduct when
your nation is fighting for its survival.
c Compare your responses with others in your
class. Do you all agree?
6 Create a diagram or flowchart to explain how
Blitzkrieg tactics worked. Why do you think they
were so effective?
chapter 9 world war II
293
9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
9.5 The end of the war in Europe
The tide of war turns in Europe
By 1943, the German Blitzkrieg tactics had lost the
element of surprise and their wartime success had peaked
(see Source 9.22). That year, Britain, the British dominions
(including Australia), the USA, the Soviet Union and the
Free French Forces formed an alliance to force Germany
and its allies into an unconditional surrender.
The defeat of Germany
R
AF
Source 2 American troops storming a beach at Normandy,
France, on D-Day
EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA: THE HEIGHT OF AXIS POWER 1942
keyconcept: contestability
FINLAND
NORWAY
N O R T H
LEGEND
B A LT I C
RUSSIA
S E A
Conflicting reports surrounding
Hitler’s death
Axis powers
Countries collaborating
with Axis powers
S E A
DENMARK
OSTLAND
Conquered territories
Neutral countries
IRELAND
Allied powers
NETHERLANDS
GREATER
GERMANY
BELGIUM
LUXEMBOURG
A T L A N T I C
POLAND
UKRAINE
SLOVAKIA
OCCUPIED FRANCE
O C E A N
HUNGARY
SWITZERLAND
VICHY
FRANCE
ROMANIA
BANAT
CROATIA
SERBIA
ITALY
MONTENEGRO
CORSICA
SPAIN
PORTUGAL
BULGARIA
BLACK
SEA
ALBANIA
N
SARDINIA
TURKEY
GREECE
SPANISH MOROCCO
D
BRITAIN
Crete
MED IT E R R A N E A N
S E A
Dodecanese Is.
(Italy)
Cyprus (GB)
0
200
400
600 km
FRENCH NORTH AFRICA
Source 1 294
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
In September 1944, Allied ground troops invaded
Germany from the west. The Allies continued bombing
major German cities, including Berlin. In April, the
Soviets encircled Berlin and launched a final assault.
Hitler remained in Berlin, to direct the defence of
the city from his underground bunker. Although
most of Berlin’s population was forced to take part in
the fighting, the Soviets seized Berlin after a week of
fighting in the streets. Hitler committed suicide on 30
April (see Source 3), and Germany officially surrendered
on 7 May 1945.
T
From 1943, the Soviet army won a series of battles
against Germany. By 1945, Germany had been forced
out of most of Eastern Europe, with Soviet troops
occupying Russia, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and
the Baltic States. The Russians continued their advance
into Germany, and reached the German capital, Berlin,
in April.
SWEDEN
In Western Europe, the Allies began major bombing
campaigns on Germany from 1942, initially focusing
on destroying German airfields but later bombing
industrial cities. This campaign failed to significantly
affect German morale or industries, and on its own
could not win the war. The Allies developed a plan to
invade France. On 6 June 1944, around 160 000 Allied
troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, in northern
France. This operation, known as ‘D-Day’, led to the
liberation of France in August 1944 (see Source 2).
Source: Oxford University Press
In the years following the defeat of Germany in
World War II, there were many reports about Hitler’s
death and what was done with his body. Numerous
conflicting accounts of what actually happened were
published in the days and months following the event.
Some reports claimed that Hitler had committed
suicide with his wife Eva Braun and that, afterwards,
their bodies were burnt. Some reports claimed that
the bodies had been buried and were recovered by
Soviet troops when Berlin fell and shipped back to
Russia. Other reports claimed that Hitler’s body was
never found at all.
While there was little evidence to support the idea
that Hitler had escaped, many alleged sightings of
him were reported all around the world in the years
following the war. In addition to these reports, the FBI
kept detailed records on Hitler for 30 years after the
war, and is rumoured to have fully investigated any
report that alleged he was still alive.
For more information on the key concept of
contestability, refer to page XX in ‘The history toolkit’.
Source 3 The front page of the News Chronicle (London),
2 May 1945, announces the death of Adolf Hitler
Check your learning 9.5
Remember and understand
1 Which countries formed an alliance in 1943 in
order to try and force Germany and its allies to
surrender?
2 Using Source 1, list all of the countries that were
controlled by the Axis powers by the end of 1942.
3 How did Hitler die?
4 Which country was eventually responsible for the
capture of Berlin?
5 When did Germany officially surrender?
Apply and analyse
6 Why do you think that German Blitzkrieg tactics
were less effective later in the war?
7 Why were there conflicting reports surrounding
Hitler’s death at the end of the war?
chapter 9 world war II
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9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
Background to Japan’s
involvement in World War II
seized from Germany during the war, in the years after
the war Western powers such as the USA began to limit
Japan’s influence there.
Japan had supported the Allies (Britain, France and
Russia) during World War I, but it was disappointed by
the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Although
Japan was permitted to keep Chinese territory it had
CHINA: JAPANESE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AT THE START OF
WORLD WAR II
LEGEND
Japan
U.S.S.R.
Japanese occupied
territory
Despite the fact that Japan’s invasion of China was
in 1937 and the signing of these pacts took place before
the war, these events are generally considered to be part
of World War II. However, the event that has come to
symbolise Japan’s entry into World War II is the attack on
Pearl Harbor.
MONGOLIA
D
Manchuria
Sea of
Japan
Beijing
KOREA
CHINA
Nanjing
When World War II began in Europe, the attention
of Britain, France, the USA and even Australia was
diverted away from Japan. Despite evidence of Japanese
aggression, there was still a belief that the Japanese did
not pose a significant threat.
For the first two years of the war, Japan appeared to
have the upper hand. Following the attack on Pearl
Harbor, Japanese forces quickly occupied Malaya,
Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam and
Wake Island. Malaya was attacked by the Japanese for
its rubber resources, quinine was taken from Java and
Borneo was raided for its oil – all resources that were
much needed for battle.
The attack on the American naval base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 changed this
(see Source 2). It alerted the Allies to the nature of
the Japanese threat. Japan hoped to destroy America’s
Pacific fleet, as a preventative strike to stop American
interference in the Pacific. While the attack on Pearl
Harbor seemed to be successful, the damage inflicted
on the American fleet was less than originally thought.
Rather than preventing American intervention, the
attack caused the USA, Australia and the Netherlands
to declare war on Japan. Germany (an ally of Japan)
declared war on the USA. This brought the USA into the
European war.
SOVIET UNION
LEGEND
Vladivostok
Major battles
KOREA
CHINA
Nagasaki
Furthest extent of
Japanese control
Route of the Allied advance
Hiroshima
Shanghai
EA ST
C H I N A
SEA
MIDWAY IS
OKINAWA
June 1942
Pearl Harbor
FORMOSA
THAILAND
WAKE I.
IWO JIMA
S OUTH
CHINA
S EA
PHILIPPINE
ISLANDS
HAWAII
MARIANA IS
June 1944
Leyte Gulf
October 1944
P A C I F I C
MARSHALL IS
East China
Sea
O C E A N
SINGAPORE
Shanghai
BORNEO
GILBERT IS
SUMATRA
JAVA
296
JAPAN
Tokyo
HONG KONG
OCEAN
Source 1 Pacific areas controlled
by Japan
MANCHURIA
PAC I F I C
South China Sea
ALEUTIAN IS
MONGOLIA
JAPAN
Changsha
Shantou
Hong Kong
Japan also conquered Burma in the west, and
pushed south through French Indochina (Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos) and the Dutch East Indies to
reach Australia’s doorstep in New Guinea (see Source
3). Britain and the USA had seriously underestimated
Japan’s military ability. This, together with the element
of surprise and the imaginative use of combined naval
and air forces by the Japanese, gave Japan an early
advantage.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: THE JAPANESE EMPIRE IN 1942
Tokyo
Qingdao
gtz
Yan e
The Great Depression of the 1930s caused massive
unemployment and major social problems in Japan.
This led to a military takeover of the government.
The military rulers of Japan took a far more aggressive
approach to solving their economic problems.
Throughout the inter-war period, Japanese politics was
dominated by nationalist and militarist movements.
Out of these movements came the idea of a ‘Greater East
Asian Co-prosperity Sphere’. This was the idea that East
Asia could exist free of Western influence. It proposed
that Japan act as the leader of a bloc of Asian and Pacific
nations working together. In reality though, it was
designed to allow Japan greater influence and access to
oil and rubber resources in neighbouring countries. In
1936, Japan signed an agreement with Germany known
as the Anti-Comintern Pact. The following year, Japan
invaded China (see Source 1). Finally, in 1940, Japan
signed the Tripartite Pact, which cemented the alliance
of the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan).
War in the Pacific
R
AF
Compared to many countries in the Asia–Pacific
region during the early 1900s, Japan was a powerful,
independent and nationalistic country with a strong
army. Unlike many other Asian countries, however,
Japan had very limited access to natural resources such
as oil, coal, rubber and iron ore for steel production.
Instead, it relied on other countries such as China and
the USA for these.
Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor
T
9.6 The course of the war
in Asia and the Pacific
TAIWAN (Formosa)
CELEBES
NEW GUINEA
TIMOR
May 1942
0
400
800 km
Source: Oxford University Press
AUSTRALIA
Source 2 The bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Source 3 N
SOLOMON IS
August 1942–
February 1943
C O R A L
0
1000 km
S E A
Source: Oxford University Press
chapter 9 world war II
297
9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
Turning points
The fall of Singapore
Singapore surrendered to the Japanese on 15 February
1942, and more than 130 000 allied troops, including
15 000 Australians, became Japanese prisoners of war.
Controversially, a small number of soldiers, including
the Australian commander Gordon Bennett, escaped
on ships to avoid capture. The fall of Singapore
caused great concern in Australia. Singapore had been
regarded as almost impossible to invade, and strong
British presence there prior to 1942 had meant that
Australia felt protected. The defeat of the British base
in Singapore meant that there was nothing to stop
the Japanese advance into Australia. Australia’s leaders
realised that they could no longer depend on Britain,
and that they needed new allies against Japan.
Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, quoted in
the Melbourne Herald, 27 December 1941
T
Several battles are identified as key
turning points in the Asia–Pacific war
zone. At sea the most significant were the
Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of
Midway. Both involved the navies of the
USA and Australia in cooperative ventures.
R
AF
Source 4
I make it quite clear that Australia looks to
America, free of any pangs as to our traditional
links of kinship with the United Kingdom … We
know the problems that the United Kingdom faces.
We know the constant threat of invasion … but
we know too that Australia can go, and Britain can
still hold on … We are therefore determined that
Australia shall not go, and we shall exert all our
energies towards the shaping of a plan, with the
United States as its keystone, which will give our
country confidence of being able to hold out until
the tide of battle swings against the enemy.
In March 1942, Japanese forces established
bases on mainland New Guinea, with
the objective of capturing Port Moresby.
From there, they could launch regular
bomber raids against northern Australia.
With this threat looming, Prime Minister
Curtin agreed to place all Australian forces
under the command of the American
General Douglas MacArthur, formerly
the commander of the US-controlled
Philippines. While American forces were
assembling in Australia, and the battlehardened soldiers of the Second AIF were
returning to defend Australia, it was left
to inexperienced Australian militia units
to stop the Japanese advance to Port
Moresby.
Source 5 A propaganda poster used to rally Australian
support following the Japanese attack on Darwin (AWM
ARTV09225)
The Battle for northern Australia
By November 1943, Darwin had suffered 64 air raids.
Other towns in the Northern Territory, Queensland
and Western Australia were also struck. In total, there
298
were 97 airborne attacks on northern Australia and
approximately 900 Allied troops and civilians were killed.
Several ships and almost 80 aircraft were lost. Many
people felt that the bombing of Darwin was the beginning
of a full-scale invasion of Australia, but whether this is the
case or not remains a controversial topic.
D
The fall of Singapore brought the war much closer
to Australia than had ever been anticipated. From
December 1941, there began an evacuation of women
and children from Darwin and surrounding areas
in fear of a Japanese attack. On 19 February 1942,
Japan launched an assault on Darwin (see Source 6).
Officially, around 250 people were killed, although
the real death toll continues to be debated. Most other
Australians were unaware of the seriousness of the
attack. The government played down the bombing
and the number of deaths. A Royal Commission into
the events surrounding the attack revealed that some
people, including members of the defence forces, had
panicked under fire. There were also stories that some
people had looted bombed buildings or simply fled
the city.
War comes to Sydney Harbour
On 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines,
launched from a group of five larger submarines further
out to sea, entered Sydney Harbour. The submarines
sank a ferry carrying military personnel. Twentyone people were killed before Australian forces sank
the submarines. A week later, two larger submarines
surfaced off the coast at Bondi, shelling several Sydney
suburbs and the nearby city of Newcastle. While little
damage was done, the appearance of Japanese vessels
emphasised to Australians that the war was now much
closer to home.
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
The Battle of the Coral Sea (4–8 May
1942) was fought off the north-east coast
of Queensland, just south of New Guinea.
Although the Allies suffered a number
of casualties (see Source 7), it prevented
the Japanese from launching a sea-based
assault on Port Moresby. This forced
them to make a land-based assault via the
Kokoda Trail.
In the Battle of Midway (4–7 June
1942) Japanese naval forces attempted
to lure several US aircraft carriers into a
trap to capture the strategically important
Midway Islands. US code-breakers
intercepted Japanese communications.
The US Navy destroyed four Japanese
aircraft carriers and more than 200
aircraft, severely weakening the Japanese
war machine. The USA would use this
weakness to prevent supply ships taking
war materials, such as oil, munitions and
food to Japanese forces in the region.
Historians have described the Battle
of Midway as ‘the most stunning and
decisive blow in the history of naval
warfare’.
Source 6 Bomb damage to the Darwin post office and surrounding buildings
as a result of the first Japanese air raid
Source 7 The USS Lexington in flames after a Japanese attack during the
Battle of the Coral Sea, 1942
chapter 9 world war II
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9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
Gona
Popondetta
Airstrip
Alola village
Deniki
Isurava
Myola
Mana-Manu
Nauro
Uberi
Port Moresby
Sanananda Point
Buna
EN
The Kokoda Trail (sometimes called the
Kokoda Track) is a roughly 96-kilometrelong narrow path in New Guinea,
connecting Port Moresby to the village
of Kokoda (see Source 8). Surrounded by
steep mountains and jungle, the trail was
frequently a river of sticky mud, and it
was extremely slippery.
OW
Japanese forces occupied parts of the
north-east of New Guinea in early 1942.
As the Japanese navy was halted at the
Battle of the Coral Sea, Japan’s only
option to seize Port Moresby seemed to be
an overland assault through dense jungle
along a narrow path known as the Kokoda
Trail.
The drive to Japan
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: THE KOKODA TRAIL
Kokoda
Dobodura
Oro Bay
Wairopi
Eora Creek
Templeton’s Crossing
Kagi
Efogi
Menari
Lorabaiwa
Owers’ Corner
Sogeri
Rouna
S
TA
N
LE
Y
RA
NG
E
N
For the remainder of the war, Australia’s role changed.
The involvement of the Australian military was decreased,
and more emphasis was placed on moving Australians into
war-related industries and production. Australia’s task was
often seen as providing other nations with the food and
resources needed to defeat Japan and Germany. Despite
this, many Australians continued to be involved overseas.
By late 1944, American B-29 bombers had bases from
which they could strike Japan’s home islands. These raids
were highly effective because most Japanese buildings,
made of paper and wood, burned easily. On 8 March
1945, a single raid on Tokyo killed 83 000 people, mainly
civilians. As US forces got closer to mainland Japan, they
found that the Japanese defence was becoming tougher
and more desperate. Japanese Kamikaze pilots would carry
out suicide missions, crashing their planes into US ships.
The US government, in an attempt to bring the war to a
swift end, began to consider new options, including the
use of nuclear weapons (discussed in section 9B).
23 July, when a small Australian platoon slowed the
Japanese advance across the Kumusi River, before falling
back to Kokoda. On 29 July, 80 men defended Kokoda
against a Japanese attack, suffering heavy casualties
as they engaged in hand-to-hand fighting. The next
morning, they retreated further along the trail to
the village of Deniki. They suffered heavy casualties
attempting to retake Kokoda on 8 August, as well as
during the retreat along the trail. This retreat was
followed by a two-week break in the fighting, when
the survivors met with reserves from Port Moresby and
prepared to defend the trail at Isurava.
D
R
AF
As the risk of a Japanese attack on Port
LEGEND
0
100 km
Moresby increased, a military force had
Kokoda Trail
to be assembled. Because most Australian
troops had been fighting for more than
Source 8
Source: Oxford University Press
two years in Africa and the Middle East,
or had been captured as prisoners of war
The Battle of Isurava was a major turning point in
in the Fall of Singapore, a new group of soldiers had
the Kokoda campaign. Maroubra Force defended the
to be assembled. Military leaders gathered a group of
trail valiantly, but was outnumbered and suffered heavy
volunteers from the Citizen’s Military Forces (CMF) and
casualties on the first day of battle. At Isurava, however,
local Papuan soldiers. They became known as Maroubra
the first substantial reinforcements from the AIF began
Force. These troops were young, inexperienced and
to arrive, providing a vital boost for the depleted
underprepared for frontline combat. They received
Maroubra Force. The battle lasted four days, before the
little training in jungle warfare, and were equipped
Australians had to retreat further, mounting smallwith old, outdated weapons. By mid-1942, however,
scale delaying actions along the way. Further battles
more experienced officers were sent to support the
took place at Mission Ridge and Imita Ridge, before the
young soldiers.
Japanese troops began to run out of supplies and their
advance stalled. In October, Australian troops launched
Some units were kept around Port Moresby in
a counterattack along the trail, gradually forcing the
reserve, while a smaller force was posted to the village
Japanese back. By 2 November, Kokoda was back in
of Kokoda in July 1942. They were sent to defend the
Allied hands. Months of hard fighting lay ahead before
airfield there. It took eight days and nights to reach
the Allies could shift the Japanese from their bases at
Kokoda, with the troops arriving on 15 July.
Buna and Gona.
The first clash of the Kokoda campaign occurred on
With increased US involvement in the Pacific, Japan
became drawn into a war of attrition, meaning that both
sides attempted to wear each other down to the point of
collapse (even though forces and supplies were depleted).
Under pressure to replace its depleted forces, particularly
after the disastrous Battle of Midway, Japan threw
inexperienced recruits into the frontlines. Japan’s war
industries could not keep up with demand for replacement
ships and aircraft. Japan gradually lost the resources to
undertake major offensives. With Japan on the back foot,
the Allies made two successful counterattacks in 1943.
T
The Kokoda campaign
Approximately 625 Australians were killed fighting
along the Kokoda Trail, while at least 16 000 were
wounded. More than 4000 also suffered from serious
illnesses such as malaria. In the immediate aftermath of
the campaign, members of Maroubra Force were hailed
as ‘the men who saved Australia’. The campaign also
had an immediate impact on the organisation of both
the American and Australian armies. The Australian
troops on the trail had been poorly supplied because
of the unreliability of air drops. Both the Australian
and American militaries developed new techniques for
dropping supplies after their experiences at Kokoda.
Check your learning 9.6
Remember and understand
1 Which nations were involved in the Tripartite
Pact?
2 What was Japan’s main reason for attacking
Pearl Harbor?
3 Why was the attack on Pearl Harbor less
successful than initially thought?
Apply and analyse
4 Using Source 3 identify and locate the countries
and areas taken over by the Japanese between
1937 and 1942.
5 In your own words, explain why the fall of
Singapore was such a significant event for
Australians.
6 Analyse Source 4. What was Prime Minister
Curtin saying about Australia’s changing
relationship with Britain and the United States?
Evaluate and create
7 Research the experiences of Australian
prisoners of war (POWs) in the Pacific, and
the experiences of Soviet POWs in Germany
and Eastern Europe. Prepare a PowerPoint
presentation that compares and contrasts the
experiences of the two groups.
8 During the fall of Singapore, the Australian
commander Gordon Bennett escaped the city
and returned to Australia after a difficult twoweek journey. Bennett believed that it was his
duty to escape, and was initially praised by
the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin. The
vast majority of the soldiers under Bennett’s
command became Japanese prisoners of
war, and many of them were killed. Using the
information provided, and your own research,
complete the following tasks:
a Discuss with a partner whether Bennett’s
actions were justified.
b Research General Douglas MacArthur’s
escape from the Philippines to Australia.
Can you see any similarities between the
two escapes? What are the important
differences?
Source 9 Steps on the Kokoda Trail (AWM 026821)
300
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
chapter 9 world war II
301
9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
During times of war, political and military leaders assume more prominent roles than they do
during peacetime. As a result, they are often held responsible for the success or failure of wars.
Initially, these leaders decide whether to declare war or remain neutral. They also decide
how many troops to commit. They are also ultimately responsible for the actions of their
troops, including the responsibility for upholding the laws of warfare. In World War II,
the Allied leaders had monumental decisions to make, and had to accept the consequences
of their actions. The political and military leaders discussed here are among the most
significant individuals of the Allied forces.
Prime Minister of Great Britain –
Winston Churchill
Franklin D Roosevelt was President of the USA for most
of the war. When Roosevelt died on 12 April 1945,
Truman became President. It was only then that Truman
was briefed on the ultra-secret Manhattan Project – the
research and development plan for the atomic bomb.
In July 1945, Truman joined the other Allied leaders for
the Potsdam Conference. While there, he was informed
that the atomic bomb had been successfully tested.
At Potsdam, the Allied leaders agreed on the terms of
surrender to be offered to Japan. When Japan rejected
these terms, Truman authorised atomic strikes on
the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These
bombings forced Japan to unconditionally surrender.
Despite the consequences of the bombings, Truman
never publicly regretted his decision, and said that ‘under
the same circumstances, I would do it again’.
Churchill had been involved in politics since 1900,
and was military strategist behind the disastrous
Dardanelles campaign (including the Australian attack
at Gallipoli) during World War I. He held several
different positions between the wars, and became a
vocal critic of the policy of appeasement during the
late 1930s. He was appointed to the War Cabinet by
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on the day Britain
declared war on Germany, and became Prime Minister
in May 1940. Churchill’s main contribution to the war
effort was to maintain the morale of the British people
through his rhetoric and charisma, steering the nation
through the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and the D-Day
landings. Despite his popularity as a wartime leader, he
was defeated in the 1945 elections. He served a second
term as British prime minister between 1950 and 1955.
Stalin joined the Bolsheviks (a militant communist organisation)
in 1903, and became the organisation’s main operative in his
home region of Georgia. When the Bolshevik Revolution installed
a communist government in Russia in 1917, Stalin became an
increasingly important political figure. By World War II, Stalin
was the Premier and undisputed leader of the Soviet Union. He
signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany in 1939, which
also divided Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres
of influence, but then Germany invaded the Soviet Union in
1941, starting the war on the Eastern Front. Stalin proved to be a
ruthless negotiator at the wartime and post-war conferences, and
laid the groundwork for the ‘Sovietisation’ of Eastern Europe and
the Cold War.
D
R
AF
President of the United States –
Harry Truman
Premier of the Soviet Union –
Joseph Stalin
T
9.7 Significant individuals:
wartime leaders
Source 3 Joseph Stalin
French General – Charles De Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle held no official government role.
When World War II broke out, he was a colonel in the French army.
When his unit achieved a rare victory during the Battle of France,
the French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, appointed de Gaulle to his
War Cabinet. In this role, de Gaulle argued against surrendering to
Germany. When France surrendered, de Gaulle rejected the decision
and fled to Britain to continue fighting. De Gaulle frequently clashed
with the other Allied leaders. Despite this, he proved a charismatic
and intelligent leader. His Free French Forces continued to grow, and
eventually merged with the French Army of Africa in 1943. By the
time of the D-Day landings, Free French Forces numbered 400 000
men. They played a significant part in the liberation of France, and
de Gaulle assumed the role of Prime Minister of the Provisional
Republic of France from 1944 to 1946.
Source 4 Charles de Gaulle
Check your learning 9.7
Source 1 Harry Truman
302
Remember and understand
Evaluate and create
1 Did President Harry Truman regret his decision to
authorise the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki? Why did he authorise the bombings?
2 What was different about Charles de Gaulle’s role as
an Allied leader?
3 Conduct further research on one of these Allied
leaders, covering the following:
a Identify how he came to power.
b Decide what you think his most significant
decision during World War II was.
c Analyse his importance after World War II.
Source 2 Winston Churchill
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chapter 9 world war II
303
9A What were the causes of World War II and what course did it take?
The Kokoda campaign was arguably the most
significant military campaign in Australia’s
history. Although it is generally accepted
that Japan did not plan to invade mainland
Australia during World War II, this was a real
fear at the time. Given the limited information
available to them, the soldiers of Maroubra
Force believed they were fighting the ‘battle
to save Australia’. Had the soldiers of
Maroubra Force not held back the Japanese
advance in New Guinea, the war in the Pacific
would have gone on for much longer, and
cost even more lives.
The campaign is made even more
incredible by the conditions in which it was
fought. Sources 1 and 2 provide an insight
into the experiences of soldiers on the
Kokoda Trail.
Straining, sweating, swearing, climbing the mountain side,
‘Just five minutes to the top’; my God how that fellow lied,
Splashing through mud and water, stumbling every yard
One falls by the wayside when the going is extra hard
Extract from ‘The Crossing of the Owen Stanley Range’,
by Private H McLaren
Source 2
You are trying to survive, shirt torn, arse out of your pants,
whiskers a mile long, hungry and a continuous line of stretchers
with wounded carried by ‘Fuzzy-Wuzzies’ doing a marvellous
job. Some days you carry your boots because there’s no skin on
your feet …
Private Laurie Howson, 39th Battalion, diary entry
Despite the significance of the Kokoda campaign in World
War II, the Gallipoli campaign of World War I is usually
remembered as Australia’s proudest battle. Over time,
Gallipoli and Anzac Day have become the main focus
of public commemoration and remembrance. Some
historians and critics now argue that Kokoda would be
a more appropriate focus of national commemoration
than Gallipoli. They suggest that the Kokoda campaign
was fought in defence of Australia, whereas Gallipoli was
an invasion of a foreign nation that posed no threat to
Australia. Some people also argue that the ‘Kokoda spirit’
is more relevant to modern Australia than the ‘Anzac spirit’.
D
skilldrill: historical significance
Writing a historical discussion
Historical discussions present different opinions about
particular historical questions or issues. Follow these steps
to write your own historical discussion.
Source 3 A still from the film Kokoda: 39th Battalion showing
members of the 39th battalion on the Kokoda Trail
304
Step 2 You need to mention in your writing where
information is coming from. Some examples of how you
can do this include:
• ‘According to the historian Peter Williams …’
• ‘The depiction of Australian soldiers’ experiences
in Alister Grierson’s film Kokoda: 39th Battalion
shows that …’
Step 3 Conclude with your own point of view on the
question or issue.
Source 4 Summary of the structure of a written discussion
Introduction
Step 1 Consider evidence from a range of sources,
and outline different possible interpretations of that
evidence.
• Consider various primary sources – such as
newspapers, photographs or political and legal
documents from the period being studied.
• Also consider the ideas of other historians,
presented in secondary sources such as textbooks
and websites.
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
• Introduces the topic, question or issue
• Outlines why the topic, question or issue is
important
Main body
• A series of paragraphs that outline different
arguments or opinions about the topic,
question or issue
T
The Kokoda
campaign
Source 1
They’d wish they were down with Satan, instead of this hell
on earth,
• Each opinion or argument that is presented
should also refer to the evidence which
supports it
R
AF
9A rich task
Conclusion
• Sums up the issue and gives the writer’s
opinion
Step 4 Include a bibliography that references all sources
used in the discussion. When citing a book in a
bibliography, include the following information, in this
order:
• Author surname(s) and initial(s)
• Year of publication
• Title of book (in italics)
• Edition (if relevant)
• Publisher
• Place of publication
• Page number(s)
Example:
Braga, S, 2004, Kokoda Commander: The Life of Major-General
‘Tubby’ Allen, Oxford University Press, pp 83–84.
When citing an online source in a bibliography, include
the following information, if available:
• Author surname(s) and initial(s) or organisation name
• Year of publication or date of web page (last update)
• Title of document (article) enclosed in quotation marks
• Organisation name (if different from above)
• Date you accessed the site
• URL or web address enclosed in angle brackets
Example:
James, K, 2009, ‘The track: a historical desktop study of the
Kokoda Track’, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and
the Arts, accessed 10 July 2016 <http://www.environment.gov.au/
heritage/publications/pubs/awm-kokoda-report.pdf>
Apply the skill
1 Write a 500-word historical discussion on the following
topic:
‘Kokoda was Australia’s most successful and
significant military campaign and should be
commemorated as such.’
Use the information and sources in this section
together with your own research to locate a range of
primary and secondary sources of information which
provide evidence about the significance of Kokoda.
Make sure you include a bibliography that references
all your sources using the conventions outlined above.
Extend your understanding
1 What was significant about the units that made up
Maroubra Force at the start of the Kokoda campaign?
2 Use the sources in this section as well as information
you have located through research to write a
paragraph describing the conditions in which the
soldiers fought along the Kokoda Trail.
3 Research the ‘Fuzzy-Wuzzies’ mentioned by Private
Howson in Source 2.
a What role did they play in the Kokoda campaign?
b Has the contribution of the Papua New Guineans
to the campaign been officially recognised?
c Imagine you have been asked by the Australian
Government to design a new war memorial for
the Papua New Guineans. Design a plan for an
appropriate memorial, considering: appropriate
symbols, where your memorial will be built, the
materials you would use, and the message you
want your memorial to send.
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9B What were some of the most significant events of World War II?
9.8 The Holocaust
events without protest. The word ‘Holocaust’ is of Greek
origin and means ‘sacrificed by fire’ or ‘burnt’. Out of
respect for the dead, Jewish communities today use the
Hebrew word Shoah instead, meaning ‘catastrophe’.
The origins of the Holocaust can be traced back further
than Adolf Hitler’s lifetime. Anti-Semitism has its
origins in the ancient world, and was rife throughout
Europe in the Middle Ages.
In the 1880s, the eugenics movement became
popular. Eugenics, a practice that aimed to ‘improve’
T
Beginnings of the Holocaust
R
AF
In 1933, it is estimated that the Jewish population of
Europe stood at around 11 million. By the end of the
war in 1945, it is estimated that more than six million
Jews had died at the hands of the Nazis. To put this
into perspective, more than half of all European Jews
were killed. This systematic, government-endorsed
persecution and murder of Jews took place throughout
the Nazi-occupied territories under the command of
Adolf Hitler. It is among the most brutal and destructive
policies of the 20th century, and is referred to as the
Holocaust. Hundreds of thousands of German military
and civilian personnel were involved in the mass
murder. Millions more collaborated or accepted these
D
Source 2 Nazi storm troopers (also known as brownshirts) outside a Jewish business, directing people to shop elsewhere, 1933
Source 1 The conical-shaped Hall of Names in the Holocaust History Museum in the Yad Vashem Holocaust complex in Israel –
the Hall of Names shows around 600 portraits of Jewish Holocaust victims
306
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
the human gene pool by controlling the types of
people giving birth to children, was taught as a
subject at many universities. For a time, eugenics was
supported by people like Winston Churchill, and was
government policy in countries such as the United
States. By the 1930s the popularity of the eugenics
movement was declining, but the Nazi Party’s policies
were heavily influenced by its ideas.
Hitler outlined the development of his antiSemitism and even some of his proposed policies
towards Jews in his book Mein Kampf. Many of these
beliefs were borrowed from the eugenics movement.
He declared that ‘the personification of the devil as
the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of
the Jew’. Mein Kampf also outlined Hitler’s hatred of
communism, and his belief that Germany would have
to expand east to provide Lebensraum (‘living space’)
for ethnic Germans. The seeds of Hitler’s cruel and
murderous policies were present in his ideology at least
a decade before he became Chancellor of Germany
in 1933.
Within months of coming to power, Hitler also
introduced a law that allowed the compulsory
sterilisation of people with mental or physical
disabilities. In other words, anyone who was disabled
(a broad definition of ‘disabled’ was used, ranging
from schizophrenia, to deafness, to alcoholism) could
be legally forced to have an operation to ensure they
could not have children. More than 400 000 people
were sterilised and around 5000 died as a result of these
operations. Another 70 000 were killed under a related
euthanasia program.
Anti-Semitism and eugenics eventually combined
in Germany’s racial policies. As well as violence against
Jews and boycotts of Jewish businesses (see Source 9.43),
the government refused to grant German citizenship
to Jews and sought to remove all Jews from the
government, the legal professions and universities. Laws
limited the number of Jewish students allowed in public
schools, banned Jews from many public places, expelled
Jewish officers from the army, and transferred ownership
of many Jewish businesses to non-Jewish Germans.
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9B What were some of the most significant events of World War II?
As Hitler’s policies began to take hold, many Jews
(and Germans) refused to believe the reality of what was
taking place around them. Some, including the famous
scientist Albert Einstein, left Germany. Others believed
that they would be protected because they were German
citizens. By the time the reality dawned, they had been
stripped of their citizenship and, often, the avenues of
escape had been closed to them.
R
AF
T
In 1938 there was a wave of violence directed
against Jewish synagogues, businesses and houses
across Germany. It was known as Kristallnacht or the
‘Night of Broken Glass’. While there is no doubt that
this was organised by the Nazis, Hitler claimed that it
was a spontaneous attack by German people, and that
it showed the depth of anti-Jewish feeling. The Nazi
regime was widely criticised in the international press
as a result of Kristallnacht.
Source 4 A Jewish youth selling Star of David armbands in
Warsaw
Spread of anti-Semitism and the
formation of ghettos
Soon after the invasion of Poland in 1939, ghettos were
set up in Nazi-occupied territories, such as Poland,
Hungary and the Soviet Union. Ghettos were small
areas of larger cities that were used to isolate Jews
from the rest of the population. They were bricked
off or encircled with barbed wire to stop people from
escaping. Over the course of the war, many Jewish
people were rounded up and forced to leave their homes
308
D
Source 3 A cloth Star of David badge that Jews were
required to wear in public – the word ‘Jude’ means ‘Jew’ in
German
and move into ghettos. One of the largest ghettos was
in Warsaw, Poland (see Source 5). Conditions inside the
ghetto were extremely brutal. It was very crowded and
there was often no running water, or toilet facilities.
Jews were often not allowed to leave the ghetto and had
to depend on the few rations provided by the Nazis.
One survivor described the Warsaw ghetto as ‘a prison
without a roof’. Approximately 800 000 Jews died in the
ghettos from malnutrition, disease and forced labour.
Others were murdered outright by shooting.
Although the principal victims of the Holocaust
were European Jews, Nazi policies also targeted other
segments of society, such as Sinta and Romani peoples
(often referred to as Gypsies) as well as homosexuals
and people with physical or intellectual disabilities.
Between 200 000 and 500 000 Sinta and Romani
peoples alone were killed by the Nazis. These criminal
actions were later labelled genocide – the deliberate
attempt to wipe out a religious, racial or ethnic group.
Nazi occupation policies, particularly in Eastern and
Central Europe, were also brutal. In Poland and the
Soviet Union, for instance, they resulted in the deaths
of millions of civilians.
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Source 5 The clearing of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto in
Poland in 1943. Towards the end of the war, German troops
cleared ghettos and transported those living in them to
concentration camps either to work or to be killed.
Concentration camps
In addition to the formation of ghettos in large cities
to confine Jews and other ‘undesirables’, the Nazi
government used existing concentration camps in
Germany and built many new camps throughout
the occupied territories, mostly in Poland. The exact
number of concentration camps is not known; however,
it is generally accepted that there were between 2000
and 8000 camps.
The camps varied in character. Some were forced
labour camps where inmates were compelled to do hard
physical labour such as mining and road building under
harsh conditions (see Source 6). Others were prisoner
of war camps where Allied soldiers were held and often
tortured in order to reveal secret information. Still
others functioned as extermination camps designed for
the sole purpose of murdering. Many camps, however,
served a combination of these functions. The best
known and largest of these camps was Auschwitz–
Birkenau, where inmates considered unsuitable for
forced labour were gassed and their bodies burnt in
crematoria (giant ovens – see Source 7). More than one
million Jews alone were murdered at Auschwitz.
Source 6 Russian, Polish and Dutch slave labourers interned
at the Buchenwald concentration camp had an average weight
of 75 kilograms each before entering camp. Eleven months
later, when this photograph was taken, their average weight had
dropped to 31 kilograms.
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9B What were some of the most significant events of World War II?
The ‘Final Solution’
Mass shootings
Historians generally agree that around 3 million
Jews were killed in concentration and extermination
camps, while another 3 million died in other violent
or oppressive circumstances outside the camps. All
6 million deaths were a result of Nazi extermination
policies. Many other non-Jewish inmates died of
maltreatment, disease and starvation.
D
With the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941,
Nazi policy towards the Jews began to move into its
most extreme phase. Between the start of the invasion
and early 1943, roughly 1.6 million eastern European
Jews were executed in mass killing campaigns that were
conducted by members of the Einsatzgruppen (mobile
Source 8 Polish prisoners dig
graves for their fellow
prisoners after a mass
execution by the
Nazis, 1941
310
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
More than 6 million of Europe’s 11
million Jews were killed in a deliberate
campaign of extermination during the
Holocaust. Some survivors endured slave
labour in the various camps. Many others
hid or were protected by sympathetic
non-Jews. There were also those who
took up arms against the Nazis, such as
the Jewish Combat Organisation whose
members led uprisings in some of the
major ghettos.
After the war, many European Jews
migrated to other countries, including
Australia, where they have established
vibrant new communities. After enduring
the horrors of the Holocaust, many Jews
wished to join their fellow Jews who were
already living in their ancient homeland.
So, in November 1947, the United
Nations endorsed the establishment of an
independent Jewish state in what became
known as Israel (see section 9.14). Israel
declared its independence in May 1948.
R
AF
Source 7 Crematoria where the remains of people killed at
Buchenwald concentration camp were cremated
In January 1942, at a meeting in the city of Wannsee
near Berlin, leading Nazi officials identified a process
to achieve a ‘final solution to the Jewish question’. The
aim was to eliminate the estimated 11 million European
Jews. This ‘Final Solution’ combined forced deportation
and transportation of Jews to labour camps before
extermination.
The Holocaust’s legacy
T
killing squads). Local collaborators, the SS (Hitler’s elite
forces) and some members of the Wehrmacht (German
armed forces) also participated in this extermination. The
process generally involved rounding up the members of
a local Jewish community and executing them in an area
close to their homes. On 29–30 September 1941 at Babi
Yar, near the city of Kiev, 33 771 Jews were executed. This
phase of the Holocaust was the most public, and rumours
of executions began to spread in the occupied areas and
in Germany itself.
The horrors of the mass murders
and other atrocities committed by the
Nazis shocked people all around the
world. After World War II, the nations
of the world were determined to prevent
such grave crimes from ever happening
again or, at least, ensuring that people
committing such crimes would not
go unpunished. The facts and lessons
of these events are commemorated in
Holocaust museums that have been
established in many countries, while
memoirs and films communicate the
Jewish experience of the Shoah to the
world. New international treaties on
human rights, the humane treatment
of civilians in times of war, sanctuary
for refugees and the elimination of
racial discrimination have come into
effect since the events of the Holocaust.
These treaties, such as the Declaration of
Human Rights, recognise the inherent
dignity and equal and inalienable rights
of all members of the human race as the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace
in the world.
Source 9 These are the tracks along which trains took people to their death at
the Auschwitz–Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland
Check your learning 9.8
Remember and understand
1 What does the word ‘Holocaust’ mean? What term do Jewish
communities use to refer to the Holocaust?
2 What was the eugenics movement? How popular was it?
3 What were some of the laws implemented during Nazi Germany
to persecute Jews?
4 Apart from Jews who else was persecuted by the Nazis?
5 Explain the difference between concentration camps and
extermination camps.
6 What was the ‘Final Solution’ and how was it carried out?
7 Why do some sources say that there were six million victims of
the Holocaust, and some say 11 million?
8 What are some of the ways in which people have ensured that the
events of the Holocaust will not be forgotten?
Apply and analyse
9 Hitler outlined his anti-Semitic attitudes in his book Mein Kampf,
and introduced anti-Semitic policies after coming to power in
1933. Why do you think that so few Jews fled Germany before it
was too late?
Evaluate and create
10Some Holocaust survivors who spent time in the Auschwitz–
Birkenau camp have said that the people who were sent to the
gas chambers were the ‘lucky ones’. Conduct some research into
the conditions faced by Auschwitz prisoners. Why do you think
survivors have made these types of statements?
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9B What were some of the most significant events of World War II?
9.9 The atomic bombings
Following the end of the war in Europe, the Allies
turned their attention to the war in the Pacific – with
the goal of forcing Japan to surrender. At the Potsdam
Conference in July 1945, the Allied leaders issued the
Potsdam Declaration to Japan. This was an ultimatum,
threatening that if Japan did not unconditionally
surrender it would face ‘prompt and utter destruction’.
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was the name given to the
research program that developed the first atomic bomb.
It had its origins in a letter from two of the world’s
leading physicists, Leo Szilard and Albert Einstein,
that was sent to President Franklin D Roosevelt in
1939. The letter outlined their fears that Nazi Germany
was beginning research into atomic bombs, and
recommended that the USA should begin its own
nuclear program. Roosevelt accepted their proposal,
and began funding secret research into atomic energy.
In 1942, the research program was placed under the
command of the American military, and became the
Manhattan Project.
Even before the USA entered World War II, it was
dedicating huge resources to the Manhattan Project. By
1944, approximately 129 000 people were working on
the Manhattan Project, including scientists, construction
workers and military personnel. Included was a physicist
named Robert Oppenheimer (see Source 1) who became
known as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ for his role in
the project.
312
T
The Potsdam Declaration
The Trinity
test was extremely
successful. At the
time it was the largest
man-made explosion
Source 1 Robert Oppenheimer
in history. The shock
and General Leslie Groves (centre)
wave made by the
examine the wreckage of the
explosion was felt up
tower and shack that held the first
to 160 kilometres away. nuclear weapon, 11 September
1945
The test observers
immediately contacted
President Harry Truman, who was at the Potsdam
Conference, and told him that they had been successful.
The following month, two other atomic bombs
developed by the Manhattan Project were dropped on
Hiroshima (on 6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (on 9 August
1945), Japan, in what history would record as the last
major acts of World War II.
Source 2 US marines watch a phosphorous shell attack on the Japanese
in the Battle of Okinawa
war). Two major land battles, at Iwo Jima and Okinawa,
revealed how fierce Japan’s defence of the Home Islands
would be. Both islands were heavily fortified and
fiercely defended. Around 6800 American troops and
approximately 21 000 Japanese soldiers were killed at
Iwo Jima. The Battle of Okinawa (see Source 2) was the
bloodiest in the Pacific, with 50 000 Americans wounded,
and 12 000 killed. Approximately 95 000 Japanese
soldiers were killed, including many who committed
suicide rather than surrender. It is unknown how
many civilians were killed in the American invasion of
Okinawa, but estimates vary from 42 000 to 150 000.
R
AF
The development of more sophisticated technology in
World War II culminated in the invention of the atomic
bomb. In spite of the horrific bombing raids experienced
in Europe during the war, the use of nuclear weapons
remains a symbol of the terrifying force and destructive
effects of war. The use of the two bombs that successfully
ended the war also marked the beginning of the Cold
War and the ever-present threat of nuclear destruction.
After three years
of using their research
to develop a weapon,
members of the
Manhattan Project
tested the first atomic
bomb on 16 July 1945,
in New Mexico. This
test was codenamed
‘Trinity’.
D
In addition to the horrific events of the Holocaust, the
dropping of the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which effectively ended the
war, is remembered as one of most significant events of
World War II.
The Japan campaign
In mid-1945, Japan was losing the war in the Pacific.
America had recaptured the Mariana Islands and the
Philippines, and Japan was running out of resources.
The Japan campaign began with a series of minor air
raids. These raids soon developed into a major strategic
firebombing campaign in late 1944, which involved
dropping large numbers of small bombs designed to
start fires. The change to firebombing tactics resulted
in devastating attacks on 67 Japanese cities, killing as
many as 500 000 people. Despite the damage and the
huge civilian death toll, the Japanese military refused to
surrender.
America therefore continued to push towards the
Japanese Home Islands (the islands that the Allies had
decided would be the extent of Japan’s territory after the
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Despite the immense loss of life on both sides at Iwo
Jima and Okinawa, the American commanders in the
Pacific continued preparations for Operation Downfall,
the plan to invade Japan. The Soviet Union also prepared
to enter the war in the Pacific, planning to declare war
on Japan and invade the Japanese-occupied region of
Manchuria on 9 August. However, these commanders
were not aware of the Manhattan Project. Japan’s
rejection of the Potsdam Declaration in July 1945 caused
President Truman to authorise the atomic bombings
of Japanese cities, hoping that it would force Japan to
surrender and save millions of lives that might be lost in
Operation Downfall.
The bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
On 6 August 1945, an atomic bomb nicknamed
‘Little Boy’ was dropped on the city of Hiroshima (see
Source 3). Hiroshima was chosen because it was a large,
urban, industrial city that also served as a military
storage area and an assembly point for troops. No
Source 3 ‘Little Boy’ – the atomic bomb that
destroyed almost 70 per cent of Hiroshima in
August 1945
one knew how much damage the bomb would do, so
Hiroshima was one of the few major cities not targeted
by the American firebombing campaign. In that way
the damage caused by the bomb could be more easily
observed.
The bombing occurred at 8.15 on a Monday morning
in Hiroshima. The city’s residents had been given no
warning of the atomic bombing. The bomb’s immediate
impact was incredible. Approximately 80 000 people, or
30 per cent of Hiroshima’s population, were killed, and
another 70 000 were injured. Roughly 69 per cent of the
city’s buildings were completely destroyed. The longterm effects of the bombing were even worse. People
suffered from burns, radiation, cancer and many other
side effects. The exact figures are disputed, but the total
number of deaths caused by the bomb by the end of
1945 was between 90 000 and 160 000. By 1950, around
200 000 people had died because of side effects from
the bomb.
After the bombing of Hiroshima, President Truman
released a statement saying that a new weapon had
been used, and that ‘if they [the Japanese government]
do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of
ruin from the air’. On the same day, the Soviet Union
declared war on Japan and invaded the Manchuria
region. However, the Japanese government still did not
respond to the Potsdam Declaration. On 9 August, a
second atomic bomb was dropped on the port city of
Nagasaki.
The bomb’s impact on Nagasaki was just as
devastating as it was on Hiroshima. Between 40 000 and
75 000 people were killed by the immediate effects of
the bomb, and a further 74 000 were injured. By the end
of 1945, at least 80 000 were dead because of the bomb’s
long-term effects.
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9B What were some of the most significant events of World War II?
engaging in total war. At the time, many
people believed that it would not be practical
to spend $2 billion on the Manhattan
Project, and then decide not to use the
atomic bombs created to save American lives.
keyconcept: empathy
The story of Sadako Sasaki
Japan was shocked and devastated by the two atomic
bombings and the declaration of war by the Soviet
Union. Although the Japanese military commanders
wanted to continue fighting the war, Emperor
Hirohito ordered his government to surrender.
On 14 August the Japanese government
notified the Allies that it would accept the terms
of the Potsdam Declaration, provided the Emperor
retained full sovereignty of Japan (the right to rule
independently and free of foreign influence). That
night, members of the Japanese military attempted
to overthrow the government and remove Emperor
Hirohito from power. They were unsuccessful. On
15 August 1945, Hirohito’s surrender speech was
broadcast on Japanese radio, marking the end of
World War II. The formal declaration of surrender was
signed on 2 September, and the Allies occupied Japan
from that date until 1952.
314
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Japan surrenders
Some critics of the bombings argue
that the surprise bombing of civilians
with nuclear weapons was fundamentally
and morally wrong. Others argue that the
bombings constituted war crimes, or crimes
against humanity. In a 2003 interview,
Robert McNamara, who was the US Secretary
of Defence from 1961 to 1968, recalled
General Curtis LeMay, who was involved in
planning the bombings, telling him ‘if we’d
lost the war, we’d all have been prosecuted as
war criminals’.
Source 4 Statue of Sadako Sasaki holding a crane in the
Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima
Debate about the bombings
Immediately after World War II ended, most Americans
supported the use of the atomic bombs to force Japan to
surrender. Disturbing images of maimed survivors were
censored in the USA, and many people were so used to
anti-Japanese propaganda that they felt little empathy
for the victims of the bombings. Since then, however,
there have been fierce debates over whether the atomic
bombings were justified or necessary to win the war.
D
Sadako Sasaki is one of the most famous victims of
the atomic bombings in Japan during World War II. She
was only two when the atomic bomb was dropped on
her home city of Hiroshima. She survived the explosion,
but began to develop symptoms nearly a decade after
the bombing. In November 1954, Sasaki developed
swelling on her neck, and purple spots on her legs.
She was diagnosed with leukaemia, and hospitalised in
February 1955.
While in hospital, she was visited by a friend who
taught her to fold paper to make origami cranes. There
is a Japanese tradition that folding 1000 paper cranes
brings good luck and grants the person who folds them
one wish. Sasaki attempted to fold 1000 cranes, but
died in October 1955 before she could complete her
task. Her friends and family finished the cranes, and
built a memorial to Sasaki, and all the children who were
affected by the bombings.
Sasaki’s story is just one of tens of thousands of
victims of the atomic bombings. Her story puts a human
face on the suffering of the victims, and helps to ensure
that the victims are not considered simply as statistics.
For more information on the key concept of empathy,
refer to page XX of ‘The history toolkit’.
Some argue that the bombings saved millions of
lives by preventing the need for an invasion of the
Japanese Home Islands. The ferocity with which
Japanese soldiers fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa made
this a popular view among American soldiers and their
families. Other supporters of the decision to use the
atomic bombs say that Japan’s ‘never surrender’ warrior
culture meant that, without the bombings, Japan would
not have surrendered. Another argument is that the
atomic bombings were the inevitable result of both sides
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Source 5 General Sir Thomas Blamey, the
commander of the Australian army, accepts the
surrender of the 2nd Japanese Army on the island
of Morotai, in September 1945 (AWM 115645)
Source 6 Hiroshima before (13 April 1945) and after (11 August 1945)
the atomic bombing
Check your learning 9.9
Remember and understand
Evaluate and create
1 What were some of the reasons for the choice of
Hiroshima as the target for the first atomic bombing?
2 Who sent the letter to President Roosevelt that
kick-started the Manhattan Project? What were the
two main points of the letter?
3 What was Operation Downfall? Why was it never fully
carried out?
4 Outline some of the arguments for and against the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
World War II. Do you believe the bombings were
justified?
5 Collect a series of images and quotations to create
a PowerPoint presentation showing the impact of
the atomic bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. You
should consider both the short-term and long-term
effects of the bombings.
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9B What were some of the most significant events of World War II?
9B rich task
Oskar Schindler, German Industrialist who saved many Jews
Source 3
When people came to gas chamber, they had a soldier going
around and said, ‘Women here, men here. Undress. Take
shower.’ They told them, ‘You’re going to a camp. Going to
work. Tie shoes together. And make sure your children tie their
shoes together. Because when you come out, you don’t so
much spend time look for your shoes and your clothes.’ All a lie.
They were not thinking about it that they will be dead in another
fifteen minutes.
Holocaust survivor Sigmund Boraks
Source 4
A Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich. He cannot exercise the
right to vote; he cannot hold public office … Marriages between
Jews and nationals of German or kindred blood are forbidden …
Jews are forbidden to display the Reich and national flag or the
national colours.
Selected points from the Nuremberg Laws, a series of anti-Semitic laws
put in place in Germany by the Nazis
Source 5
I feel the urge to present to you a true report of the recent riots,
plundering and destruction of Jewish property [on Kristallnacht].
Despite what the official Nazi account says, the German people
have nothing whatever to do with these riots and burnings.
The police supplied SA men with axes, house-breaking tools
and ladders … the mob worked under the leadership of [Hitler’s]
SA men.
Anonymous letter from a German civil servant to the British Consul, 1938
D
skilldrill: historical sources as evidence
Evaluating the reliability and usefulness
of sources
Source 1 Buchenwald prisoners liberated by the US army in
April 1945
316
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There is considerable evidence that shows
the nature and complexity of the experiences
of those who were subjected to anti-Semitism
in Nazi Germany, before, during and at the
end of World War II.
Evidence includes the many laws passed
in Germany during the 1930s. Once the war
started, the Nazis took photographs in the
ghettos and in concentration and extermination
camps. Then, when the camps were liberated
by the Allies in May 1945, there were more
photographs taken and views recorded by
those who liberated the camps. The soldiers
were shocked at what they found. Still later, as
Holocaust survivors began to readjust to life
after the trauma, many of them documented
their experiences and feelings.
Step 1 Evaluating reliability
To determine the reliability of a source, you need to
identify whether it is biased. Bias means having an
unbalanced or one-sided opinion. Bias is found in
secondary and primary sources. It is natural for people
to show their opinion when they write something. To
recognise bias in a source, think about:
• who wrote/created it
• when it was written/created
• why it was written/created
• whether the source distorts the facts
• whether the source gives or shows one side of the
story, or whether it is balanced
• whether the views expressed in the source can be
verified.
You can then come to a conclusion about whether
the source is biased. Make sure you give specific reasons
for your conclusion. You need to explain how and why a
source is biased, and how this bias affects its reliability.
The more biased the source, the less reliable it is, but
remember that sources are never completely reliable nor
unreliable.
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Anti-Semitism in
Nazi Germany
Source 2
I hated the brutality, the sadism, and the insanity of Nazism.
I just couldn’t stand by and see people destroyed. I did what I
could, what I had to do, what my conscience told me I must do.
That’s all there is to it. Really, nothing more.
Historians use a range of sources to make speculations,
develop insights or draw conclusions about the thoughts
and actions of people in the past, including letters, diaries,
photographs, artworks, legislation, buildings and clothing as
well as reminiscences about an event, even if they were not
recorded until many years later. Being able to evaluate the
reliability and usefulness of different sources is one of the
most important, and perhaps most difficult, historical skills
you need to master. The first thing to understand is that these
terms (reliable and useful) are not interchangeable: a source
can be both unreliable and useful at the same time, or reliable
and not useful at the same time!
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Step 2 Evaluating usefulness
Some historical sources are more useful than others.
But sources are not simply useful or not useful in their
own right. They are useful or not useful depending on
what you wish to find out from them.
Just because a source is biased does not
automatically mean that it is not useful. It may be
extremely useful if you are investigating the opinions of
a particular group at a particular time. However, if you
are investigating ‘the facts’ of an event, a biased source
may be much less useful. For example, anti-Jewish
propaganda during World War II may be very useful when
considering Nazi attitudes towards Jews in the 20th
century, but not much use as evidence that there were
some Germans who did not support the Nazi’s antiSemitic policies. To make a conclusion about whether a
source is ‘useful’, you need to be very clear about what
you want to use the source for.
Use the following steps to evaluate a source’s
usefulness:
• Be clear about what historical question you are
investigating.
• Identify whether the source is biased/reliable using the
process above.
• Look at what the source is telling/showing you and
compare it to what you need/would like to know.
Remember to consider both explicit (clear) and implicit
(hidden) messages.
• Ask yourself: what are the uses of this source to
answer my historical question?
• Ask yourself: what are the problems of using this
source to answer my historical question?
• Make a final judgement about the source’s usefulness
for your purposes.
Apply the skill
1 Analyse each of the sources provided in this section.
Then, using the process outlined above:
a evaluate each source’s reliability.
b evaluate how useful each source would be in
explaining Nazi attitudes towards Jews.
c evaluate how useful each source would be as
evidence that not all Germans supported the Nazi’s
anti-Semitic policies.
2 For each source, be sure to explain how you reached
your conclusions.
Extend your understanding
1 Conduct research into some of the main concentration
camps that were built by the Nazis in Germany and its
occupied territories. For each camp, take notes on the
following:
• name of the camp
• location
• when it was built
• its main purpose (that is, as a holding place; forced
labour; extermination)
• the years in which it operated
• estimated number of Jews killed in the camp.
2 See if you can locate the story of a person who
survived the camp, and summarise some of their main
experiences. If possible, try and also find some images,
drawings or photographs of some aspect of the camp.
3 Create a PowerPoint presentation that highlights your
findings.
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
9.10 Australia’s commitment
to the war
When Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939,
Australia gave its full support to the declaration. Only a few hours
after Britain declared war on Germany, the Australian Prime
Minister, Robert Menzies, made a radio broadcast to the nation.
Source 1
Fellow Australians,
It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially, that in
consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of
Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her and that, as a
result, Australia is also at war. No harder task can fall to the lot of
a democratic leader than to make such an announcement.
Despite his doubts, Menzies authorised the creation of a second
AIF in September 1939. The Australian Government had promised
20 000 soldiers for the British war effort, but initially struggled
to fulfil this commitment. Soldiers in the AIF were paid less than
those in the CMF, and AIF wages were even lower than the dole. As
a result, many members of the CMF were reluctant to transfer to
the AIF. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was also much more
attractive to many Australians, because it seemed more exciting and
offered higher wages. It took three months to fill the 6th Division of
the AIF, in contrast to the three weeks it took to raise 20 000 men at
the start of World War I.
The fall of France in 1940 changed Australia’s perception of the
war. Recruitment rates surged, three new divisions of the AIF were
formed, and the government began to pour money into war-related
industries. From 1940 to 1942, the AIF served mainly in Libya,
Greece, Crete, Syria, Egypt and Malaya. The Australian air force and
navy also served in a number of significant battles during this time.
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After John Curtin was elected Prime Minister
in 1941 and Japan entered the war, Australia’s
experience of the war changed as the whole
population mobilised to support the war effort.
Women were encouraged to enter the workforce;
industry and the production of goods and equipment
became regulated by the government; and coastal
defences were extended and reinforced. With the fall
of Singapore, Australia was directly under threat for
the first time.
R
AF
Despite the declaration of war, Menzies was initially reluctant
to commit Australian troops to fight in Europe. Australia’s military
was in a depleted state, and Menzies wanted to ensure that Australia
could defend itself at home if required. The first Australian Imperial
Force (AIF) had been disbanded after World War I. In 1939, the army
consisted of around 3000 professional soldiers, and a voluntary
militia (non-professional soldiers) called the Citizen Military Force
(CMF). The CMF could only serve in defence of Australia. These units
were mainly equipped with weapons brought home from World War
I by the first AIF.
From September 1939 until December 1941,
Australia gave full support to the European war but
Australians at home felt little impact from the war.
This changed dramatically with the bombing of
Pearl Harbor and the fall of Singapore.
Source 2 Second AIF recruitment poster (AWM
ARTV06723)
D
From a speech made by Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies,
3 September 1939
Conscription was still a matter of great debate
in Australia at the start of World War II. When
conscription was introduced in October 1939, it only
required unmarried men aged 21 to report for three
months’ militia training and service in the CMF. They
could also choose only to serve in Australia or its
territories. This mild form of conscription did not cause
too much outrage among Australians in 1939. Soon
after, in 1942, however, all men aged 18–35 and single
men aged 35–45 became eligible to be conscripted into
the CMF. These conscripts, despite being given the
derogatory nickname ‘Chocos’, performed admirably
under incredibly difficult conditions in the Kokoda and
Milne Bay campaigns. (Choco was short for ‘chocolate
soldier’ because militia were thought to ‘melt’ in the
heat of battle.)
Source 3 Robert Gordon Menzies (1894–1978),
Prime Minister of Australia when World War II was
declared
On 8 December 1941, the Prime Minister, John
Curtin, addressed the nation.
Source 5
Men and women of Australia, we are at war with
Japan. That has happened because, in the first
instance, Japanese naval and air forces launched
an unprovoked attack on British and United States
territory; because our vital interests are imperilled and
because the rights of free people in the whole Pacific
are assailed. As a result, the Australian Government
this afternoon took the necessary steps which will
mean that a state of war exists between Australia
and Japan. Tomorrow, in common with the United
Kingdom, the United States of America and the
Netherlands East Indies governments, the Australian
Government will formally and solemnly declare the
state of war it has striven so sincerely and strenuously
to avoid.
John Curtin, Declaration of war on Japan; excerpt
from ABC radio broadcast of the Prime Minister’s
address to the nation, 8 December 1941
Source 4 Soldiers of the Second AIF leaving Australia to serve
in the war, January 1940 – their helmets show their enlistment
numbers and the cases on their chests hold their gas masks
(AWM 011141)
The war actually reached Australia’s shores in February
1942, when Japanese fighter and bomber planes launched
a series of bomb attacks across northern Australia. The
most serious was the bombing of Darwin on 19 February
(see Source 6 on page XX). The Prime Minister declared
that Australia was now in a state of ‘total war’.
Check your learning 9.10
Remember and understand
1 Why was Prime Minister Menzies initially reluctant
to commit Australian troops to fight in Europe?
2 What were some of the reasons the AIF initially
struggled to fulfil its commitment of supplying
20 000 soldiers to support British troops in
Europe? What event boosted recruitment?
3 Why were conscripted members of the CMF
nicknamed ‘Chocos’?
Apply and analyse
4 What do Menzies’ words (see Source 1) tell
us about the relationship between Britain and
Australia in 1939?
5 How and why did Australia increase its
commitment to the war after 1941? Refer to
Source 5 in your answer.
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
The bombing of Pearl Harbor and the fall of
Singapore increased the level of Australia’s involvement.
From 1942, the majority of Australian forces were
deployed in the South-West Pacific area – in New
Guinea, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and the
Pacific Islands.
In 1943, conscription into the armed forces in
Australia’s overseas territories including New Guinea
and the Solomon Islands was introduced with little
opposition. Because of the real threat of Japanese
invasion, the issue of conscription was much less
divisive than it had been during World War I.
In Australia, as with the other nations involved in
World War II, ‘total war’ meant that both servicemen
and civilians became part of the war effort. From early
1942, when the war came close to Australia’s shores, all
aspects of the Australian economy were focused on the
war effort. ‘Luxury’ industries such as furniture making
were disbanded, and men involved in ‘critical’ war-related
industries were not allowed to enlist. The USA made
Australia its main base for the South-West Pacific meaning
that up to one million American servicemen were based
in Australia. The economy was geared to meet the needs
of these soldiers as well as supporting the Australian forces
and maintaining the war effort.
German and Italian camps. Of these, 269 died. These
men were mostly captured in Greece and North Africa,
while many members of the RAAF had been shot down
in bombing raids over Germany and captured there.
Most Australian POWs in Europe were imprisoned in
purpose-built POW camps under decent conditions.
Nine Australians were, however, among a group of 168
Allied pilots shot down over France and imprisoned in
the Buchenwald concentration camp.
By far the highest number of Australian POWs were
captured by the Japanese in the Pacific (see Source 2).
Between January and March 1942, more than 22 000
Australian service personnel were captured by Japanese
forces in the region, with 15 000 captured in Malaya and
Singapore alone. By 1945, more than 8000 had died. The
significantly higher rate of deaths among POWs captured
by the Japanese can be attributed to Japan’s attitude
towards prisoners. Japanese military culture, shaped by
Australian service personnel were captured by the
enemy in all the major areas of war. Roughly 8184
Australians were held as prisoners of war (POWs) in
320
Edward (Weary) Dunlop
Among Australia’s prisoners of war there were many remarkable stories of
heroism and resilience. One of the most notable was the story of Edward
(Weary) Dunlop, a Melbourne doctor who was captured by the Japanese
in Java in 1942. Dunlop was sent to work on the Burma Railway where he
often put his own life on the line to care for sick and wounded soldiers.
He also stood up to the Japanese on behalf of those unfit for work. For
this reason he is remembered as a significant Australian.
For more information on the key concept of significance, refer to page
XX in ‘The history toolkit’.
Source 3
… thousands of us starved, scourged, racked with malaria,
dysentery, beri beri, pellagra and the stinking tropical ulcers
that ate a leg to the bone in a matter of days, and always Weary
Dunlop and his fellow MOs [medical officers] stood up for us,
were beaten, scorned, derided, and beaten again.
An ex-prisoner-of-war (from Weary Dunlop page at vicnet)
Source 2 Australian POWs in a Japanese prison camp at the
end of the war (AWM 019199)
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Source 4 Sir Edward (Weary) Dunlop,
right, in Singapore, 1942
Check your learning 9.11
Remember and understand
Evaluate and create
1 List some of the places where Australian soldiers
served during World War II.
2 Describe the ways in which the Japanese treated
their prisoners of war. Give examples.
3 What is the Geneva Convention?
5 Conduct some further research into Edward (Weary)
Dunlop and write a short biography that provides
details about his early life, his experiences and
actions during World War II, and his life after World
War II including the work he undertook to help
former prisoners of war.
Apply and analyse
Prisoners of war
The Japanese also made use of POWs as forced labour,
most notably on the Burma Railway. Along with British,
Dutch and American prisoners, 13 000 Australian POWs
were used as forced labour to build the Thailand–Burma
railway line, which was to supply the Japanese campaign.
About 2800 Australians died from malnutrition,
mistreatment and disease.
keyconcept: significance
R
AF
In 1941, Australian ground forces were stationed
in North Africa, Greece, Crete and Syria as part of the
wider imperial commitments. Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF) pilots and crew also played a major role
in the Allied bombing campaigns over Germany, where
6500 died.
Source 1 Australian Army Rising Sun Badges like this one
from 1942 were issued to soldiers of the AIF during World War II.
They helped identify Australians fighting abroad.
D
In the early years of World War II, Australia’s
contribution to the war effort closely mirrored that of
World War I. Roughly 550 000 Australian men served
overseas in the armed forces out of a total population
of seven million. Australian servicemen fought in
campaigns in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.
At camps in Ambon in Indonesia and Rabaul in Papua
New Guinea, conditions were so appalling that more than
half those captured died, and hundreds of Australian
prisoners were massacred. POWs were also killed in tragic
accidents. In 1942, 1053 Australian POWs were killed
while being transported from New Guinea to Japanese-
occupied China. The Japanese ship they were on was
torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine unaware
that the ship was carrying ally POWs.
T
9.11 Australian experiences
of the war abroad
traditional values, meant that the Japanese treated enemy
prisoners poorly. Japan refused to follow the terms of the
Geneva Convention, an international agreement on the
treatment of captured civilians and military personnel.
4 Why do you think there was minimal opposition
to the introduction of conscription in World War II
when the same issue caused such controversy and
division during World War I?
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
9.12 Life on the home front
When Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies committed
Australia to the war in 1939, the direct threat to the Australian
mainland was fairly low. The war was mostly seen as a European
conflict. However, when the threat of a Japanese invasion of
Australia became a reality in 1941, the Australian war effort had a
serious impact on the lives of ordinary Australians at home.
During the war years, the Australian Government believed that
strict censorship was necessary to maintain national security and
boost public morale. The Department of Information was responsible
for its administration. All forms of media, such as newspapers and
radio broadcasts, were subject to controls that limited what they
could report. For example, when Japanese forces bombed Darwin in
1942, the extent of damage, the scale of the attack and the loss of life
were downplayed in newspapers and on radio.
Similarly, when Australian and US soldiers brawled in the socalled ‘Battle of Brisbane’ on 26 November 1942, the death of one
Australian and the injury to others was censored because the event
was seen as threatening US–Australian relations.
In addition to this, the Department of Information censored mail
(see Source 2) and monitored phone calls to ensure that military
information relating to troop movements and locations was not
communicated to the enemy.
In addition to censoring information during the war, the
Australian government also relied heavily on propaganda.
Propaganda is information designed to influence the ideas and
attitudes of a group of people by presenting only one side of an
argument. Throughout World War II propaganda was used to
encourage Australians to support the war in different ways: enlist
to fight; work in certain industries; support certain causes. Most
importantly propaganda was used to unite Australians against a
common enemy. Propaganda did this by encouraging an emotional
response from people. Anger, fear and a sense of national pride were
all strong motivations.
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Censorship and propaganda
Source 1 A campaign poster urging civilians in
Australia not to gossip (AWM ARTV02497)
Censorship and propaganda were used together during
the war to ensure that Australians were sympathetic to
significant changes being made to laws and government
policies.
Internment
D
One of the first steps towards ‘total war’ taken by the Australian
Government was the National Security Act. This Act, passed on 8
September 1939, introduced laws that gave the federal government
greater powers to respond to the threat of war. It allowed newspapers
and the media to be censored, and legalised the detention of socalled ‘enemy aliens’ – for example, Germans and Italians living in
Australia. It also meant that groups who opposed the war, such as the
Communist Party of Australia and Jehovah’s Witnesses, were banned.
T
National Security Act
During World War II, the Australian government
took steps against people living in Australia who they
believed threatened national security. Initially, this
included the internment (detaining people in special
camps) of Germans and Italians living in Australia who
were believed to be pro-Nazi or pro-fascist (see Source 3).
When war with Japan began, all Japanese who lived
in Australia were also interned. Approximately 7000
‘enemy aliens’, many of whom had lived peacefully and
innocently in Australia for decades, were interned in
camps around the country.
Everyday life
Source 2 Mail being censored (AWM 139316)
Although the people of northern Australia suffered
numerous air attacks from the Japanese, the lives of
most Australians further south were not dramatically
affected by the actual fighting of World War II.
However, their lives were influenced in other ways,
including the types of work they were allowed to
perform. The government gave priority to industries
such as manufacturing (for war materials such as
Source 3 Italian POWs at Liverpool Prisoner of War and
Internment Camp, New South Wales, during World War II
(AWM 123706)
aircraft and munitions) and agriculture (which was
vital for food supplies).
In 1942, the federal government established the
Directorate of Manpower to control the workforce. This
allowed the government to force people to work in
particular jobs or industries. In a way, this was similar
to conscription – only for industry service rather than
military service.
Other government policies influenced many
aspects of Australian life during the war years. The
fear of air raids, for example, led to the introduction of
blackouts, which plunged major cities into darkness.
Streetlights were switched off, car headlights reduced
to narrow beams, and houses were required to have
blackout curtains to prevent light showing in the
street (see Source 4). Failure to comply could result
in fines.
The wartime government also imposed many other
restrictions. It reduced hotel and bar trading hours
and set maximum prices for restaurants. In 1942, the
government brought in national identity cards that
included personal details and listed the industry an
individual worked in. Daylight saving was introduced
to save power, and annual leave entitlements were
cut back.
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
Rationing
As the war dragged on, the supply of many basic goods and products
was limited. Restrictions on trading ships coming to Australia and
the need to dedicate supplies of food and products to the war effort
overseas meant that there were shortages of food and clothing for
many ordinary Australians. In order to ensure that available supplies
were distributed evenly, the Australian government introduced a
rationing system in May 1942. Products such as butter, milk, eggs,
meat, tea, shoes and clothes were all rationed. Alcoholic drinks were
also rationed and people were encouraged to restrict travel unless it
was absolutely necessary.
The government issued civilians with ration books containing
coupons, which had to be presented when paying for certain goods
(see Source 5). Pregnant women and families with young children
were given extra rations.
Almost three-quarters of a million Australians (mostly men)
enlisted in the Second AIF during World War II. However, a great
many more men and women were engaged in the war economy.
Many men were not allowed to enlist in the armed forces
because they worked in reserved occupations, such as farming
and manufacturing (see Source 6). Men were needed at home to
construct vital wartime infrastructure and military buildings, such
as ports, aerodromes, bridges and barracks, and also to make war
equipment and munitions. The Allied Works Council was set up
in 1942 to oversee such projects. As part of this program, the Civil
Construction Corps was established. The corps, while a civilian
organisation, was run with military-style discipline. By mid-1943,
more than 50 000 men served in the corps, which was mostly made
up of labourers, carpenters and truck drivers.
Men who were unable to enlist because of age, health or their
positions in reserved professions also joined the Volunteer Defence
Force. Members of this force, including many veterans of World
War I, were trained to protect against enemy attack on the home
front. The Volunteer Air Observers Corps monitored the sky for
potential air raids. Air-raid wardens made sure that everyone
followed blackout procedures and participated in evacuation drills.
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R
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Men on the home front
Women’s role in the war
Source 4 Preparing for the night-time blackout
D
During the war, some items simply could not be produced,
such as pyjamas, lawnmowers and children’s toys. Recycling
was encouraged and depots were set up for scrap metal, cloth
and rubber. People were also urged to grow their own food to
supplement rationing. Vegetable patches appeared in front gardens
and many families kept chickens in the backyard. Australians
responded imaginatively to wartime rationing. Newspapers and
magazines such as the Women’s Weekly offered advice to housewives
about how to cope with the shortages. This included handy hints
for cooking, or advice about how to paint seams on the backs of
their legs to look as if they were wearing stockings. Women were
encouraged to avoid buying new items, by repairing and patching
clothes for as long as possible.
Source 6 These men
are shown producing
munitions during World
War II. Jobs such as
these were known as
reserved occupations
because they were
essential to the war
effort.
Australian women had a very broad range of duties and
responsibilities during World War II. The needs of the
armed forces, the war economy and the deployment
of many men overseas created new types of work
possibilities. Before World War II, Australian women
were not permitted to serve in the
military. Most working women were
employed in factories, shops or in family
businesses. It was expected that women
would resign from their employment
once they had children. Although
the number of women entering the
workforce between 1939 and 1945 only
increased by about 5 per cent, the types
of jobs they were involved in changed
dramatically.
army, making up around 5 per cent of the entire force.
The Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF)
established in October 1940 was quickly followed by the
women’s army and navy forces. Women were not sent
overseas to fight, but were trained in many of the homefront tasks so that more servicemen could be freed up to
join the overseas forces.
At the start of World War II, women
on the home front were encouraged
to take the sorts of roles that they had
held during World War I. They were
expected to knit and sew, pack parcels,
raise money, encourage enlistment and
maintain the home.
Source 5 Ration coupons entitled civilians to
certain goods
This changed as the war came closer
to Australia. From late 1940, women were
not only permitted but were encouraged
to join the services (see Source 7).
Around 35 000 women served in the
Source 7 Recruitment poster to attract women into the services (AWM
ARTV00332)
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
As the war continued, and conscription called up
more and more men, many farms were suffering from
a shortage of workers. The Women’s Land Army was set
up to distribute female labour to farms and orchards
to keep food production going (see Source 10). Around
3000 women were members of the Land Army.
Volunteer groups such as the Australian Women’s
National League continued to take on the more
traditional tasks for the war effort, such as knitting socks
for the troops, preparing Red Cross food parcels, and
raising money for soldiers’ families. Other volunteers
completed training in emergency services such as first
aid and ambulance driving in case of air raids.
At the end of the war there was a general
expectation that women would return to domestic
duties in the home and that the returned soldiers would
be welcomed back into the workforce. This is mostly
R
AF
Even if women did not enlist in the Auxiliary Forces,
it was argued that increasing women’s employment
would enable more men to enter military service.
However, the understanding was that their employment
was only for the duration of the war. Women entered
new areas of work, acting as tram conductors, and taxi
and truck drivers. As the war progressed, Australian
women worked increasingly in war industries, such as
manufacturing munitions and military equipment.
Under Manpower regulations, women could be
deployed in occupations that suited their skills. A
woman trained as a florist could be compelled to work
in a factory because of her skills with wire; a dancer
could be sent to work on a farm because she was agile
and physically fit. By mid-1943, nearly 200 000 women
were employed in roles that would assist the war effort.
They were paid roughly two-thirds of men’s pay rates.
Source 8 Australian
Women’s Army Service
mechanics
D
1 What were some of the ways the National Security
Act allowed the Australian Government to respond
to the threat of war?
2 What was the ‘Battle of Brisbane’ and why were
details about it censored?
3 What were some of the items that were rationed in
Australia?
4 What kinds of jobs did women do in the services and
the general economy during World War II?
5 What were some of the other restrictions placed
on the lives of Australian citizens by the Australian
Government during World War II?
Evaluate and create
326
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
It is often argued that women were forced out of
the workforce and back to a dull domestic existence
at the end of the war. There is some truth in this, but
there is also evidence that many women wanted to
return to traditional roles. Many who had had boring
and unfulfilling jobs during the war were glad to be
rid of them. Others who had put off marriage and
childbearing during the war were delighted to return
to domesticity and begin raising their families.
Source 10 Members of
the Australian Women’s
Land Army gather flax
straw as part of their farm
work (AWM P00784.128)
Check your learning 9.12
Remember and understand
Source 9 Female planemaintenance workers
what happened, but there were some women, especially
single women, who remained in their jobs.
T
By the end of the war, the WAAAF was made up of
18 500 women; the Australian Women’s Army Service
(AWAS) had 24 000 women (see Source 8); and the
Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS)
boasted 2000. Most commonly, women’s roles in
the armed forces were clerical. However, some were
involved in traditional men’s roles, as signallers, truck
and ambulance drivers, intelligence officers, wireless
telegraphers or aircraft ground staff (see Source 9).
Despite their new skills women were still not permitted
to take on combat roles or serve outside Australia. The
exception to this was the nurses who served in most
areas where Australian troops were sent.
• A woman who has been working as a
meteorologist during the war. She is single
and has been earning a good wage during the
war. She has also enjoyed the work and the
independence. She does not see why she should
now be forced to leave the workforce.
• A man who has recently returned from the war
and is keen to begin work as an accountant with
his previous employer. Unfortunately, there are
no vacancies at the accounting firm, because all
available roles are filled by well-qualified women.
Each person must speak at least five times during
the role play and support their arguments for
and against the sacking of women and the reemployment of men in the workforce after the war.
6 Write a role play based around some of the issues
women faced at the end of World War II. Adopt the
roles of the following two characters:
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
soldiers served in the armed forces during World War II,
but the number who enlisted under another nationality
was probably much higher.
R
AF
In addition to the regular army, a number of
Indigenous Australians served in Special Forces. The
Torres Strait Light Infantry was formed in 1941 to
defend the strategically important Torres Strait area. In
1941, anthropologist and soldier Donald Thomson was
authorised to organise and lead the Northern Territory
Special Reconnaissance Unit. This unit contained 51
Aborigines and five white Australians. They lived off
the land while they patrolled the coastline of northern
Australia. In the event of a Japanese invasion, they were
to conduct a guerrilla campaign from behind enemy
lines using traditional Aboriginal weapons.
D
It is impossible to know how many Indigenous
Australians served during World War II. At the start of
the war, the AIF officially only accepted Aborigines who
were of ‘substantially European descent’. However, the
RAAF accepted Aborigines from the outset, and many
Indigenous Australians joined the AIF by claiming
to be another nationality. Due to the early shortage
of recruits, many recruiters also accepted Aboriginal
volunteers, despite official restrictions. Reg Saunders
became the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the
Australian army in 1944. After the bombing of Darwin,
the restrictions on Aborigines joining the AIF were
relaxed. A small number of Torres Strait Islanders were
also recruited into the United States army. It is estimated
that around 3000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Other Indigenous Australians were
also employed by the army in a variety
of roles. Aborigines worked on farms and
in butcheries; built roads and airfields;
were construction workers, truck drivers
and general labourers. They also filled
more specialised roles, such as salvaging
downed aircraft and organising munitions
stockpiles. Many Aboriginal women were
also involved in these roles, as well as
joining organisations such as the Australian
Women’s Army Service. Despite their
important work, pay rates remained low
for Indigenous workers. The RAAF briefly
increased wages for Aboriginal workers, but
was pressured to lower them again by the
civilian government.
T
9.13 Indigenous Australians
at war
The Aboriginal soldiers in these units were
not formally enlisted in the army, and
received goods such as tobacco rather than
monetary pay until 1992, when back-pay
and medals were awarded.
Indigenous Australians made a huge
contribution to the war effort. By 1944,
almost every able-bodied male Torres
Strait Islander had enlisted. This meant
that, as a proportion of its population, no
other community in the world voluntarily
contributed as many men to the war effort.
There seems to have been remarkably
little racism or tension between Indigenous
and non-Indigenous Australians in the
army. When they returned to civilian
life, however, many Aboriginal veterans
faced the same discrimination they had
left behind before the war. Many were
banned from Returned and Services League
(RSL) Clubs except on Anzac Day. Most
Indigenous Australians were not given the
opportunity to use the skills they had learnt
during the war when they returned home.
Len Waters, who joined the RAAF in 1942
and flew 95 missions, dreamed of becoming
a civilian pilot after the war. Waters was
forced to return to his pre-war occupation
as a shearer.
One ex-soldier, Tommy Lyons who had
served at Tobruk said on his return: ‘In the
army you had your mates and you were
treated as equal, but back here you were
treated like dogs.’
Source 2 Informal group portrait of members of the 2/18th Australian Field
Workshop, which included Indigenous and non-Indigenous soldiers: Alick
Jackomos (centre front row), a Greek Australian, worked for Aboriginal rights
and was one of the founders of the Aboriginal Advancement League after the
war (AWM P00898.001)
Check your learning 9.13
Remember and understand
1 Did Indigenous Australians who had served in World War II
receive the same benefits as non-Indigenous veterans?
Apply and analyse
2 Who was Len Waters? What does his experience suggest about
the treatment of Indigenous Australians after World War II?
3 Use the Internet to conduct some research on the Coloured
Digger Project and the proposed memorial to Aboriginal
soldiers. Record some of the opinions on the proposed
memorial.
Evaluate and create
4 In pairs, discuss how significant you think Reg Saunders’
promotion to become the first Aboriginal commissioned officer
was. Why do you think it took until 1944 for an Aboriginal
soldier to get promoted to officer rank? Compare your
responses with other pairs.
Source 1 Indigenous soldiers on parade in 1940 (AWM P02140.004)
328
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
9.14 Australia’s international
relationships
The experiences of the war years also
reshaped the role of Australian governments
in people’s lives and cemented the place of
the federal parliament as the most significant
of the three tiers of government in the
nation. In order to fight the war, the federal
government had significantly expanded the
scope of its activities. Income taxation and
its spending were now centrally controlled,
and the banking system was regulated by
government. The Australian public placed
greater reliance and expectations on the
government to successfully manage the
economy and social issues.
T
Although Australia did not experience the levels of war
damage of many of its allies and was never occupied by
enemy forces, the conflict had a number of important
consequences. It fundamentally altered Australia’s
relationship with Britain and the USA. The legacies
of World War II also laid the foundations for great
economic and social change in the second half of the
20th century.
To address this changing situation, Prime Minister
John Curtin moved Australian troops from the
Middle East to Australia, against the advice of the
British Government. This was a practical, short-term
solution to a major strategic problem. The long-term
consequence was the realisation that Australia could
no longer rely on Britain to defend it. Australia now
focused on a strategic relationship with the USA.
As a result of this new arrangement, Curtin placed
Australian forces under the control of the broader US
military campaign in the Pacific.
American General Douglas MacArthur would also
establish his base for the south-west Pacific campaign
in Australia (see Source 1). Until this point, Australia’s
330
Source 1 Australian Prime Minister John
Curtin welcomes General Douglas MacArthur to
Australia, 1942
foreign policy had largely been determined by the needs
of the British Empire. This relationship with the USA
was an important step in establishing an independent
Australia and continues to have an important bearing
on Australian foreign policy decisions.
The experience of war and the death of
roughly 28 000 Australian service personnel
and civilians also shaped Australia’s future.
The commemoration of the 1939–45 fallen
was incorporated into commemorations of
World War I. Local communities recognised
the sacrifice of the more recent deaths by
extending and expanding the monuments
originally constructed to remember the dead
of the 1914–18 conflict, ironically described
as ‘the war to end all wars’.
Source 3 The first production-model Holden rolled off the assembly line in
1948.
Domestic changes
D
As the war continued, Britain’s resources were
reduced, and the nation found it increasingly difficult
to defend itself and fight Germany and Italy in Europe
and North Africa. Britain could only send limited
resources to Asia, when the war expanded into the Asia–
Pacific region. When Japan struck, Britain experienced
its greatest wartime defeat with the fall of Singapore
in 1942.
R
AF
Australia and the USA
In 1939, Australia’s Prime Minister Robert Menzies had
committed Australia to a war in support of the British
Empire. By 1945, though, the world had changed
markedly. Britain had entered the conflict as one of the
world’s greatest powers. The countries of the empire
cooperated to confront Nazi aggression in Europe.
However, as the conflict expanded into a global one,
the strains of war took their toll. In confronting Nazi
Germany, Britain became dependent on the financial,
military and economic support of the USA.
made its first major inroads in Australia
during this period. Australians had mixed
feelings about this cultural ‘invasion’. On
one level, many feared the loss of Australian
culture and traditions. On the other hand,
for many younger Australians there was a
fascination with American music, dress and
slang.
The social and economic implications of the war were
also far-reaching for Australia. Wartime industries had
encouraged the growth of manufacturing and services.
For the first time in the nation’s history, farming
ceased to be the major area of economic activity. Food
processing and canning, an increase in steel production,
and the manufacture of consumer goods such as
washing machines and refrigerators all expanded during
and after World War II. The first Holden car rolled off
the assembly line at Fisherman’s Bend, Victoria, on 29
November 1948, and cost the equivalent of two years’
wages for the average worker – £675 ($1350).
The presence of almost one million American
service personnel in Australia during the war also had a
significant cultural impact. For some Australian women
these men would become boyfriends or husbands. The
influence of American cinema, language and culture
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Source 2 Memorial to those who lost their lives
in the bombing of Darwin, February 1942
Source 4 US sailors and soldiers on their arrival in Australia quickly made
friends wherever they went, and were received with hospitality.
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
Foundation of the United Nations
The League of Nations, which had been set up after
World War I to provide an international forum to
promote peace, had clearly failed. The first step towards
establishing its replacement was the Declaration of
the United Nations. Even while World War II was
still in progress, plans were underway to create a new
international body.
Post-war migration
The war had caused somewhere between 11 and
20 million refugees in Europe. Many of these refugees,
including Holocaust survivors and people who had fled
the Soviet occupation of Eastern European nations,
were housed in Displaced Persons (DP) Camps. These
camps were initially organised by the armies of
various nations, but were gradually taken over by the
United Nations. They provided shelter, nutrition and
basic health care for the refugees. A more permanent
solution had to be found, however. Around six million
refugees were returned to their own countries by the
end of 1945, but a huge number of refugees still faced
persecution in their homelands and remained in the
DP Camps. In 1947, around 850 000 refugees were
332
T
still living in DP Camps in Europe. The International
Refugee Organization (IRO) was founded by the United
Nations in 1946 to find homes for these people.
In 1947, desperate to increase its population,
Australia reached an agreement with the IRO to resettle
12 000 refugees a year. These ‘new Australians’, as they
came to be called, were accepted on the condition
that they agreed to work in government-selected jobs.
Australia eventually exceeded its commitment to the
IRO, and resettled approximately 180 000 refugees.
D
After World War II, many Australians felt that they
had only narrowly avoided a Japanese invasion. The
government, under the new Prime Minister Ben
Chifley, decided that Australia needed to increase its
population to protect itself from the threat of foreign
invasion. The slogan ‘Populate or perish’ was coined by
the Immigration Minister, Arthur Calwell, to promote
this new immigration policy. The ‘Populate or perish’
campaign initially focused on encouraging British
migrants, but this failed to increase the population
enough. For the first time, Australia began to actively
seek migrants from continental Europe (see Source 5).
Evatt went on to become one of the first presidents
of the United Nations General Assembly, the UN’s main
organisational structure. Other elements of the United
Nations (such as the Security Council, the World Health
Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the International
Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), the International
Court of Justice, and the United Nations Education,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)) all
have their origins in the foundation of the United
Nations and continue to play a significant part in
world affairs.
R
AF
Source 5 Immigrants
arrived from all corners
of Europe as part of
the ‘Populate or perish’
campaign.
The United Nations officially came into existence
in 1945, with 51 nations as founding members. The
first major meeting to prepare the Charter of the United
Nations was held in San Francisco in April 1945 (see
Source 6). Australia’s delegate, the then Minister for
External Affairs, Herbert ‘Doc’ Evatt, played a key
role in drafting the charter of the United Nations.
The Charter outlined the role of the United Nations
as an international organisation to prevent war. It
also included provisions for the United Nations to aid
refugees, support economic reconstruction after the
war, and protect human rights.
Evatt argued that larger powers, such as the USA
and the Soviet Union, should not dominate the system,
and that smaller nations, such as Australia, had an
important role to play. Evatt was involved in negotiating
the establishment of the state of Israel, one of the first
initiatives of the United Nations. He also played a key
role in the drafting of the United Nations Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948.
As well as refugees, the government sought to
encourage people from southern and central Europe
to migrate to Australia. In the 20 years after the end
of World War II, almost two million people migrated
to Australia. The influx of migrants from non-English
speaking nations, as well as the belief that Australia’s
security was linked to its population size, changed
Australia’s migration policy. The dictation test, which
had been used to effectively exclude migrants on the
basis of race, was abolished in 1958. This led to Australia
accepting refugees throughout the rest of the 20th
century, including those from the Middle East and
Vietnam; and, eventually, to accepting Asian migration.
World War II was the catalyst to change Australia’s
migration policies and Australia’s relationships with the
rest of the world.
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Source 6 Australia’s delegation to the United Nations Conference, San Francisco, 25 April 1945 – Herbert ‘Doc’ Evatt is seated
second from the right
Check your learning 9.14
Remember and understand
1 Why did Prime Minister Curtin turn to the USA for
support?
2 What moves did Curtin make once war loomed on
Australia’s doorstep?
3 Who coined the slogan ‘Populate or perish’?
4 Why were many people forced to remain in DP
Camps across Europe long after World War II had
finished?
5 Why did Australia want a larger population after
World War II?
Apply and analyse
6 How do you think Australia would be different today
if Robert Menzies had remained prime minister
throughout World War II?
7 Can the wartime relationship between Australia and
the USA be described as a ‘love–hate’ relationship?
Give reasons for your response.
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9C How did World War II affect the lives of Australians and Australia’s international relationships?
9C rich task
Australian wartime propaganda posters
Throughout the course of World War II, a range of propaganda was used in Australia in
order to encourage Australians to think and act in particular ways. Propaganda came
in many different forms, including newspapers, radio, posters and other forms of mass
communication (such as the short newsreels shown before feature films in cinemas).
skilldrill: historical sources as evidence
Analysing propaganda posters
Propaganda is anything that has been deliberately created
to influence an audience’s beliefs or actions. Even though
the word propaganda has a negative connotation today, it is
only information – a tool – and is neither good nor bad. It can
provide historians with lots of information about the period
being investigated. However, it needs to be very carefully
analysed and evaluated. Use the following steps to guide your
analysis of a propaganda poster.
Step 1 Establish the intended audience – who the producer
of the poster intended to influence.
Source 1 An Australian
propaganda poster
produced by the
Department of
Aircraft Production
(Beaufort Division)
in 1942 – ‘Beauforts’
were the first allmetal aircraft built
in Australia
D
R
AF
T
Step 2 Check the context of the poster. Consider:
• other events that may have been happening at the time
and might have influenced the producer of the poster
• the political environment at the time the poster was
created
• the common prejudices and social norms that existed
at the time, which may have influenced the producer of
the poster.
Step 3 Check the message that is being conveyed.
Consider:
• the main images on the poster and what they seem to
suggest or represent
• any text written on the poster – what it says or whether
the message is direct or suggestive
• the persuasive techniques used – these can include:
emotional appeals; generalisations; stereotypes; name
calling (direct or indirect); repetition; social disapproval
(that is, a suggestion that if the viewer acts in a different
way to what is being promoted in the poster they will
be rejected or made fun of by their friends or loved
ones).
oxford big ideas humanities and social sciences 10 western australian curriculum
Extend your understanding
Step 4 Establish the intended effect on the audience – what
the producer of the poster hopes the audience will think/
do/feel.
1 What forms does propaganda take today that were not
available during World War II? (For example, Twitter,
Facebook etc.)
Apply the skill
2 It is often assumed that propaganda contains false
or untrue information. This is not always the case.
Consider, for example, the many advertisements
produced by the government to influence people to
quit smoking. These can be defined as propaganda,
given that they are an attempt to influence people’s
opinions and behaviour. Locate an example of
modern-day propaganda, and analyse it using the
steps outlined above.
An example of the way in which propaganda can be analysed
is provided in Source 1.
1 Look carefully at Source 2 and analyse it using the steps
above as a guide.
2 Write a short paragraph comparing and contrasting
Sources 1 and 2 in terms of audience, message, intended
effect and purpose.
334
Source 2 Recruitment poster 1942
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335